The Week Ahead

Think that the fall out from the Boumediene decision is going on recess with the Supreme Court? Think again.

While the Senate Republican Conference held a press conference on judicial nominees as we were writing, this week’s real action on the Hill is taking place in the form of several hearings regarding the buildup to, and impact of, the Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush. Three House committees and one Senate committee will examine the Bush administration’s policies surrounding Gitmo, the interrogation techniques used there and the steps we will see taken post-Boumediene.

The action starts tomorrow morning when the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties holds the fourth hearing of the ongoing series, “From the Department of Justice to Guantanamo Bay: Administration Lawyers and Administration Interrogation Rules.” The focus will likely stay on the legal memos that authorized torture in Gitmo without constitutional justification, as well as the origins of the “aggressive interrogation techniques” utilized there. The fifth installment will take place on Thursday morning.

Tomorrow afternoon, the U.S. Helsinki Commission will convene to discuss the future of the inmates at Guantanamo at a hearing entitled “Guantanamo Detainees after Boumediene: Now What?” Members of the House and Senate will go over the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision, as well as examine European detainee policies as a means for comparison.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning to further examine the destructive nature of the Bush administration’s terror policies. It might be a mouthful, but “How the Administration's Failed Detainee Policies Have Hurt the Fight Against Terrorism: Putting the Fight Against Terrorism on Sound Legal Foundations” will shed some more light on the many abuses perpetrated by this administration in its “War on Terror.”

And, as always, if you can’t bring yourself to sit through a session on C-SPAN, we at Justice Watch will deliver some coverage and commentary of our own—so be sure to stay tuned.