In its own version of “asymmetrical warfare”, the Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to limit lawyers’ access to Guantanamo detainees as part of its ongoing efforts to restore GTMO’s status as “America’s Legal Black Hole”.
Even as “the terrorists” down there are so dangerous that the only one even charged was sentenced to a draconian nine months in an Australian jail, and half of “the worst of the worst” have just been released without charge or trial… those left must be treated more severely, in order to justify having held them for no reason in the first place.
The contention is that the lawyers– already under extreme restrictions, such as having to have their notes transmitted to a secure facility in the D.C. suburbs and subject to arbitrary scheduling of the military authorities, etc., etc., are allegedly “a security threat”, i.e., some of them actually talk to the media (I suppose that includes me), give speeches, etc., or worse, convey greetings from detainees’ families, or news of their cases. Tellingly, there is not a single allegation that classified material of any kind has been improperly released, or disclosed to the detainees. But then, it’s not about any kind of reality, now is it?
We’ll say this for the Bush Administration: when it arrives at an untenable [illegal, immoral, unconstitutional, counterproductive, etc.] position, it is not easily shaken from it. The assault on the lawyers that Cully Stimson began… continues. Black hole or bust!
tdog
ahh yes, we are a conduit to the press. Kinda funny since the press are actually allowed into many of the hearings that we attorneys are not allowed to attend. I know: picky picky.
What? You were expecting Alberto Gonzalez?