Jon Kyl: “No coaching. After the Rasul case was decided, I am sure, Senator Specter, you would agree it was important for the…”

“No coaching. After the Rasul case was decided, I am sure, Senator Specter, you would agree it was important for the Department of Justice to advise people of the rights that were provided as a result of that decision. That is my understanding of what they did. They had a policy of saying: The Court has made this decision. They found a statutory right of habeas corpus, and you have the right to do the following things under that statute. But that would not be a pronouncement of law by the Department of Defense. Certainly it hasn't been relied upon, to my knowledge, by any court in deciding what the scope of the writ is. So, as to your first point, I hardly think it is good evidence of the constitutional application of the writ to detainees that after the Rasul decision, the Department of Justice properly advised people as to their statutory rights based upon that decision. As to the second question--just one quick quotation. This was provided to me, at my request, by Senator Graham. In the Hamdi case, in the O'Connor opinion, she specifically answers the question you posed, Senator Specter, on page 27 of the opinion, where she says: Likewise, the Constitution would not be offended by a presumption in favor of the Government's evidence so long as that presumption remained a rebuttable one and a fair opportunity for rebuttal were provided.”