26, November Jose
Padilla
Once again the Bush cabal has demonstrated its complete contempt
for the law and the basic right of due process, driving another stake into our
cherished freedoms.
Jose Padilla a U.S. citizen has been charged as a trained
terrorist and accused of making a ‘dirty bomb’ after returning from a visit to
Pakistan. He has been incarcerated in a Navy brig for three long years without
access to his family or lawyer. These charges have been suddenly dropped, and
new, unsubstantiated charges have been filed. Attorney General Gonzales refused
to discuss the earlier allegations in the indictment.
This latest maneuver is an obvious attempt by the administration
to avoid a showdown with the Supreme Court. Retiring Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor clarified the law in stark terms, “A state of war is not a blank check
for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation’s citizens.”
Law professor Eric Freedman said the Padilla indictment was an
effort by the administration “to avoid an adverse decision of the Supreme
Court.”
Jerry Martinez, a Stanford Law professor expressed a similar
opinion. The government case is extremely weak and is based in double or triple
hearsay evidence.
As a US citizen Jose Padilla is entitled to his day in court, and
the charges should remain as before. Failure to make a strong stand will create
an extremely bad precedent for all Americans by granting unfettered powers to
the president, in complete violation of the Constitution.
