Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called on Monday for Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be deemed an "enemy combatant" so that Tsarnaev could be interrogated without informing him of his constitutional Rights.
"I strongly disagree with the Obama administration's decision to rule out the enemy combatant status for the suspect at this time. I believe such a decision is premature. It is impossible for us to gather the evidence in just a few days to determine whether or not this individual should be held for questioning under the law of war," Graham said yesterday.
Never mind that what Graham advocates is utterly illegal. Tsarnaev is an American citizen under arrest for crimes he is suspected of committing on American soil and he can only be tried in an American court of law. The authorities have determined to their own satisfaction that Tsarnaev and his late brother Tamerlan pose no further threat to life or property and were part of no wider conspiracy. The only reason to turn Dzhokhar Tsarnaev over to a military commission is "enhanced interrogation techniques," as The Knights Of Columbus Circle put it.
There was a time in this country when such a suggestion by Graham would have occasioned serious doubt about his fitness for national office. Now? He's just part of the "serious" discussion. The Unconstitutional Discussion. The "Let's Rough Up The Suspect Before We Hang Him" discussion.
This is Graham defending the National Defense Authorization Act last year:
Graham reassures us in no uncertain terms that the indefinite detention provisions of the act will be
for non-citizens only. He says that no one would be locked up without an appearance before a federal magistrate. He drawls "Don't Join Al Qaeda."
If you're a law-abiding citizen, there's nothing to worry about...
Turns out there's plenty to worry about. Lindsey Graham proved that beyond a reasonable doubt yesterday. Another president, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would be on his way to Gitmo or worse. Another president, and who knows how many of us could follow the accused Boston Marathon Bomber into the American Gulag "on suspicion"?
Thanks for the warning, senator.
And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide... the laws all being flat? -- Robert Bolt