From Consortiumnews.com comes this latest gem from AG Gonzales:
Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18, Gonzales argued that the Constitution doesn’t explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights; it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended.
“There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away,” Gonzales said.
[Emphasis mine].
Then, SFGate reports the AG’s concerns about judicial “meddling”:
A judge will never be in the position to know what is in the national security interest of the country,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales added that the judiciary should show deference to the executive branch when national security is involved, because, unlike the Bush administration, judges “don’t have embassies around the world gathering up information.”
“I try to imagine myself being a judge,” Gonzales said. “What do I know about what is going on in Afghanistan or Guantanamo?”
“How are judges supposed to gather up the information, the collective wisdom of the entire executive branch … and make a determination as to what is in the national security interest of our country?” Gonzales asked. “They’re not capable of doing that.”
*Sigh*
10:39 am on January 20, 2007
