Can’t ask, won’t tell Commentary
Can’t ask, won’t tell
Edited by: JURIST Commentator

Brian J. Foley [Florida Coastal School of Law]: "This week's legislation limiting the rights of 'detainees' to challenge the Executive's exercise (and abuse) of power over them also strips Americans of our ability to oversee the Executive. When it's easy for the Executive to 'win' its cases against these prisoners, and to prevent prisoners from challenging their detention in real courts, it's also easy for the Executive to cover up misdeeds, errors, and incompetence, all while claiming to be winning the 'war on terror' (and using this claim to increase Executive power even further). The legislation should be renamed 'Can't Ask, Won't Tell' — i.e., We the People can't ask about the prisoners, and the Executive won't tell us. For more on why fighting terrorism requires that we apply robust procedural and evidentiary rules, see my earlier JURIST piece, Guantanamo Process as a Public Danger

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