Last week we were part of an epic struggle led by Senator Rand Paul (RLC-KY) to block the inclusion of language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would make it legal for US Military forces to operate inside the US in violation of Posse Comitatus and arrest US civilians and hold them in military detention without charges for an indefinite period of time in violation of the right of Habeas Corpus, a fundamental legal protection under the Bill of Rights. Granting these extraordinary powers to the military is obviously unconstitutional and is opposed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies.
Efforts to remove indefinite military detention from the NDAA were blocked by establishment leaders from both parties in the Senate, though Senator Paul did lead a last minute effort to successfully defeat an unexpected additional amendment which would have given the government even more extensive powers to arrest and hold citizens without charges.
The original offending sections (1031 and 1032) are still in the bill and contrary to the claims of supporters of the bill, the wording of section 1032 does not, in fact, provide protection for US citizens. The use of the phrase “not required” instead of “prohibited” leaves the decision to allow the military to detain citizens entirely in the hands of federal authorities.
The only remaining opportunity to have these sections removed from the bill will be during the coming week in the reconcilliation process where members of both houses negotiate a final version of the bill. During this process all members of Congress can make recommendations for changes or adjustments in the language and if there is enough outcry it’s possible that the joint committee will do the right thing.
This will be our last chance to fix the bill and protect our liberties short of hoping for an increasingly unlikely veto from President Obama. Even if you previously wrote in during our effort to stop the bill in the Senate, please take this opportunity to write both your Represenative and Senators using the form below to ask them to speak up against the inclusion of indefinite military detention in the bill. We encourage you to customize the text to express your personal concern and outrage.
On December 5th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
We are loosing EVERYTHING! and the saddest part is that Republicans are refusing to wake up! Ron Paul 2012!!!!
On December 5th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
It is inconceivable to us that any rational person, who supports our Constitution and the Liberty it protects, could vote in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, which grants the President new statutory authority to indefinitely detain American citizens on American soil, without charge or trial, at his sole discretion. House version of this bill, H R 1540, Senate version S 1867.
Some have asserted that the defeat of Sen. Sessions’ amendment, S Amdt 1274, means that the egregious detainee provisions have been defeated. That is incorrect. First, logically, the defeat of an amendment cannot change the problematic language in the underlying bill. Second, S Amdt 1274 provides that even if a detainee (American citizen) were to receive a civilian trial and be acquitted, he STILL could be held indefinitely in military custody. In short, it was an effort to make the bill even more destructive of our Constitution. That is all that was defeated. Others have asserted that Sen. Feinstein’s amendment, S Amdt 1456, protects the rights of American citizens and preserves constitutional due process. Unfortunately, it does not. It’s just more cleverly worded nonsense to preserve the status quo, which, according to the Obama administration, permits the President to deny constitutional due process to American citizens without having to provide any justification. Although the President has threatened to veto this bill, he actually does not object to the most egregious provisions related to the indefinite detention of American citizens, so those provisions are not likely to be removed without further Congressional action and public outcry.
If you expect to continue to serve and/or be re-elected, we expect you will vote to strip this legislation of the new statutory authority which grants the President authority to indefinitely detain American citizens on American soil, without charge or trial, at his sole discretion.
On December 10th, 2011 at 1:23 am
I’ll be honest, though I may lose some street-cred for it. This scares me; It scares me alot.