By Cindy Saine
Washington
Attorney General Michael Mukasey delivers remarks on national security and provides his perspective on the legal approach in the war with al-Qaeda at the American Enterprise Institute, 21 Jul 2008
Attorney General Michael Mukasey delivers remarks on national security and provides his perspective on the legal approach in the war with al-Qaida at the American Enterprise Institute, 21 Jul 2008
U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is calling on Congress to step in and write new rules for civilian court hearings of Guantanamo detainees. In a speech to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research group in Washington, Mukasey said Congress should tell federal courts they cannot bring terrorist suspects to the United States for hearings or order that they be released in the United States. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
Attorney General Mukasey said new rules for judicial procedures are needed since the Supreme Court ruled last month that the Guantanamo detainees have the constitutional right, known as “habeas corpus,” to challenge their detention in U.S. federal court. He said the high court’s ruling leaves a number of critical issues unanswered, and called on Congress to intervene.
“So today I am urging Congress to act to resolve the difficult questions left open by the Supreme Court. I am urging Congress to pass legislation to ensure that the proceedings mandated by the Supreme Court are conducted in a responsible and prompt way, and as the court itself urged, in a practical way,” he said.