What Constitutional Rights Are Defendants Entitled to in Military Commissions?

By GottaLaff

Military commissions allow coerced testimony and hearsay. Wrong. Couldn't be wronger. That is not justice:

[L]ast month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the acting chief of the Office of Legal Counsel, David Barron, sent a memorandum to the administration’s detainee task force about rights protections that detainees might legally claim. Alas, the memo is confidential.

That typically doesn’t deter the ACLU, and today the civil liberties group filed a suit to obtain Barron’s memo. From a statement:

“The Obama administration’s continued support of the failed military commission system is at the center of much public attention and controversy,” said Jonathan Hafetz, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. “The release of the OLC memo on detainee rights would help to clarify this administration’s position on military commissions and deepen the public’s understanding of this important issue.”

Let's hope the ObamAdministration shapes up on this before too long. It's way too important. It's a must-change.

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.