Thursday, August 7, 2008

BUSH'S MILITARY TRIBUNAL REBUKED

In what the Miami Herald called "a stunning rebuke" of President Bush's crown jewel case for his military commission tribunal, a six-person jury made up of senior U.S. military officers rejected the Pentagon's request to give Osama bin Laden's driver 30 years for providing "material support" to al Qaeda.

Salim Hamdan, who made news when the United States Supreme Court said he (and others) was entitled to habeus corpus, was sentenced to 66 months in prison. Given credit for being held the past 61 months, Hamdan is scheduled to be released before President Bush leaves office.

What a joke. The Bush administration set the rules with their Military Commissions Act, had a jury full of military officers, and was able to introduce just about any evidence they wanted (including that which was produced under torture) ... and all they got was a conviction for something Hamdan admitted to from the very beginning - that he was bin Laden's driver.

Somebody call the American Bar Association ... these guys deserve a medal.

- Mark

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