http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071100953.html?nav=rss_nation/specialIt's Bush's Way or the Highway on Guantanamo Bay
As Congress opened hearings yesterday on the treatment of terrorism detainees, the Bush administration's view was neatly summarized by Steven Bradbury, the Justice Department lawyer serving as lead witness. "The president," Bradbury said, "is always right."
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court rebuked the administration by rejecting military tribunals for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and forcing President Bush to get approval from Congress. But the officials who came before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday -- Bradbury and Pentagon lawyer Daniel Dell'Orto -- were unrepentant.
And in a veiled warning, Bradbury told Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) that Bush still didn't need Congress. "The court did leave open the theoretical possibility that the president could come back on his own," he said.
But Bradbury and Dell'Orto may also have noticed that they were getting less than a full defense from the GOP side. When Bradbury rejected Graham's approach to the tribunals, Graham issued a warning. "If you fight that approach, it's going to be a long, hot summer," he told Bradbury.