White House Assigns Itself the Power to Determine Who is a Terrorist, While Denying an American Defendant Due Process and Access to Attorney

Between The Lines' Scott Harris Interviews Theresa Younger, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union

Interview by Between The Lines' Scott Harris.

Attorney General John Ashcroft announced last week that Abdullah al-Muhajir, an American citizen, also known as Jose Padilla, was detained by federal agents in early May - - accused of participating in an Al Qaeda plot to explode a radioactive bomb in the U.S. For over a month, the former gang member from Chicago has been locked up in a military prison without being formally charged and is denied the right to consult with an attorney.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against New York City and Washington, the Bush administration has systematically denied due process to more than a thousand detained immigrants -- and now it appears -- U.S. citizens. The White House defends its actions by citing World War II era Supreme Court decisions upholding the government's right to treat those it accuses of working for foreign powers as enemy combatants.

But civil liberties advocates warn that the erosion of constitutionally mandated checks and balances on government power will have far-reaching consequences for our democracy and America's standing in the world community. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Theresa Younger, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, who examines the Bush administration's assigning onto itself unilateral powers to determine the guilt or innocence of suspected terrorists without judicial review.

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