Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, top McCain advisers, proposed legislation to counter the worst excesses of the Supreme Court's Boumediene ruling, which gave enemy combatants a constitutional right to challenge their detention in federal court

National Review, Sept 1, 2008

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, top McCain advisers, proposed legislation to counter the worst excesses of the Supreme Court's Boumediene ruling, which gave enemy combatants a constitutional right to challenge their detention in federal court. Responding to attorney general Michael Mukasey's plea for congressional intervention, the bill would reaffirm that the nation remains at war and thus that enemy combatants may be detained until the termination of hostilities.

Further, it would forbid courts to order that detainees be transported into the U.S. for hearings or, worse, release; direct that all petitions be filed in a single district court (in Washington) and assigned to judges in a manner that avoids inconsistent rulings; and prescribe rules that give the government a presumption in favor of detention (as it already has in bail proceedings for serious criminals) while protecting our soldiers and intelligence agents from having to offer in-court testimony. The bill would also limit Boumediene to detention cases, underscoring that the ruling does not affect military-commission trials for war criminals. Instead of passing the bill or proposing alternatives, Democrats appear happy to idle as courts forge the more combatant-friendly procedures that their base prefers. Graham and Lieberman are wise to keep Boumediene--and the Supreme Court-in the front of voters' minds.