This page was last updated on March 19, 2010.
Lawyers support enemy combatants; Richard Buckus; Beaver County Times; March 19, 2010.
A previous letter from Mr. Buckus was entitled “Democrats must fix mess they created.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Friday’s left-leaning editorial ‘The rule of law’ misrepresented the premise that the Constitution guarantees counsel to all those charged with a crime, including al-Qaida operatives.
“To the contrary, these seven lawyers representing al-Qaida detainees are volunteers. The detainees are not criminal defendants; they are plaintiffs in a lawsuit under habeas corpus where there is no right to counsel.
“These lawyers are advocating for the enemy and have nothing to do with all defendants having a right to legal counsel.
“These attorneys represent al-Qaida operatives because they want to.
“The editorial implied that they serve a vital constitutional function is a self-adulating myth. Their main goal was to move law in a particular left-leaning direction.
“Our current attorney general, Eric Holder, and the lawyers from the Department of Justice chose to support enemy combatants and indicate the direction in which they would like to take the law and a particular policy preference regarding national security.
“Liz Cheney simply wanted the AG to disclose to the American public those attorneys he hired on behalf of the American people and whether they will be affecting the nation’s security while at war.”
[RWC] While I support disclosure of the lawyers’ names, I don’t agree to conclusion-jumping about their motives. We can draw informed conclusions only if we know the persons and their bodies of work. That’s why we need to know the names.
“Such policies must face the scrutiny of the public.”
[RWC] Agreed.
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