Mukasey: Gitmo Detainees are Coming for Your ChildrenWe posted on Monday about Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s controversial suggestion that Congress pick up the slack for the federal courts on detainee rights.
But one of the other interesting things that came out of Mukasey’s speech, was his scare-mongering on what would happen if was up to the courts alone to deal with the detainees … they could be released! … in the United States! … [cue horror music]
In his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee today, he broached this topic again during questioning by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA):
LUNGREN: …It seems to me those are unsettled questions- whether the court would be able to order the government to bring detainees in the United States and release them here. Uh, clearly that has not been decided, yet I believe the court is inviting the Congress to outline the parameters of that and I would suggest- make it impossible for that to happen.MUKASEY: The Court has left that matter open, and the fact- it has said that at the end of the day it must be open to a decsion maker to direct release. Now, um, the fact is that all of these people, every single one of them are aliens captured abroad, in essentially battle conditions um, who had absolutely no right to be here, and there’s no good reason to have a court bring somebody here for purposes of release and release them to our communitities- people who could pose a significant danger. Um, we want that particular possibility cut off. Um, we don’t want to face it, we shouldn’t have to face it.