Adam Schiff: “today I will be introducing the Military Tribunals Act of 2002 to provide congressional authorization for tribunals to…”

“today I will be introducing the Military Tribunals Act of 2002 to provide congressional authorization for tribunals to try unlawful combatants against the United States in the war on terrorism. Article I, section 8 of the Constitution provides that it is the Congress that has the power to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court to define and punish offenses against the law of nations. Up until now, there has been no congressional authorization for military tribunals. The formation of these tribunals, thus far, has been performed solely by executive order of the President with clarifying regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Defense. Some would argue, not implausibly, that despite the clear language of article I, section 8, congressional authorization is not necessary; that as President and commander in chief, he has the authority, all the authority he needs, to regulate the affairs of the military, and this power extends to the adjudication of unlawful combatants. Ultimately, if the Congress fails to act, any adjudications of the military tribunals will be challenged in court on the basis that the tribunals, having been improperly constituted, the sentences cannot stand. Through this bill, we can remove any legal cloud that would overhang these prosecutions. For one thing the Supreme Court has made abundantly clear is that the power of the executive when it acts in concert with the Congress is at its greatest ebb.”