Political Quotes

“This issue, as the Presiding Officer may recall, came up in the Armed Services Committee during our markup of the Defense Authorization Act. Our bill expressly allows the transfer of detainees for trial by a court or competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction. The amendment of Senator Ayotte to delete that authority was defeated in the Armed Services Committee by a vote of 19 to 7. The bottom line is that Congress has never before attempted to prevent the prosecution of terrorists in Federal court. We should not do so now. We should continue to use military commissions in cases where they are the best place for prosecution and for trial. We should not foreclose prosecution and trial in Federal courts. Exhibit 1 Hon. Harry Reid, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Leader Reid and Leader McConnell: We write to express our strong opposition to the Ayotte amendment to H.R. 2112, which would severely curtail the ability of the Executive branch to prosecute alleged terrorists in Federal court. The amendment represents an extreme and unprecedented encroachment on the authority of the Executive Branch to determine when and where to prosecute terrorist suspects. Whether a given case should be tried in an Article III court or before a military commission is a decision that should be based on the facts and circumstances of the case and the overall national security interests of the United States.…”