McCain and Graham: What the Fuck is Wrong with These Guys?

Senators Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte, as well as their cohort from the House, Representative Peter King, apparently have so little faith in our system of justice and so little belief in the Constitution (a document that they are constantly telling us we must honor by sticking to a so-called originalist interpretation of it), that they are arguing for abrogating the rule of law. It would seem that they don't believe our systems and processes are able to handle the prosecution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in connection with the Boston bombing and its aftermath.

The Supreme Court has already ruled that the public safety exception can be applicable in cases like this where interrogating a suspect in the interest of preventing harm may proceed for up to 48 hours without first Mirandizing the person. The idea being that they can (and should) grill him about topics such as "are there more bombs ... where are they ... are there more participants ... " etc.). If the interrogators stick to that topic and that time restriction, why shouldn't they be able to get the information they need?

It appears that these members of Congress don't think our proprietorial teams and law officers are up to the task. They also, if the reporting is accurate, would seem to suggest that Tsarnaev should be given something other than a criminal trial. 

Are they suggesting that we haul him off to Guantanamo and hold for a dozen years? Are they suggesting that a military tribunal is a better way to dole out justice here? 

Are they unaware that no one connected with 9/11 has yet been tried or convicted of anything by a military tribunal in the nearly 12 years since the attack, while, at the same time, a number of terrorist criminals have been tried and convicted in our civilian criminal courts?  

They are worried about a how long a civilian criminal trial might take. Really? How long has it taken via a military tribunal to try Kaleed Sheik Mohamed?

Do they not trust that the American system of justice is capable of trying this guy fairly and still reach the result all of us (well, apparently excepting Tsanaev's parents) expect and demand? 


Do these Senators and Representative think that Mirandizing Tsarnaev is going to result in him somehow going free? That giving him good and fair legal representation somehow means he won't be convicted? Do they not believe in our system enough to trust that it will do its job?

Do they have any clue about the message this sends to the rest of the world? That it erodes our moral authority to be telling other countries that they should hew to our example and follow the rule of law when they simultaneously suggest that we needn't do the same ourselves when it suits us not to? Do they not see the hypocrisy in this?

Isn't one of the things about which we are supposed to be proud as Americans the fact that we don't things like this?

I believe that the police, FBI, Justice Department, US Attorneys, etc. will have more than enough evidence to convict Tsarnaev of multiple Federal capital crimes. We can debate the death penalty (not here please), but clearly this young man's actions should easily be proven in court to make him eligible for that punishment. The mass of evidence should make it quite certain that he will be convicted. 

There is no reason for anyone to doubt that our system is capable of reaching the proper conclusion through a trial in a civilian criminal court. Mssrs. McCain, Graham, King and Ms. Ayotte should be embarrassed to suggest otherwise. 

In fact, as someone who believes that, when allowed to, our system functions amazingly well, I think that we should ensure that Mr. Tsarnaev get the very best criminal lawyers to represent him. That way, when a guilty verdict is returned by a judge or jury in an open and transparent court, all the world will see why we all feel so strongly about our system.



Below, from salon.com.... 




From: http://www.salon.com/2013/04/20/graham_mccain_hold_boston_suspect_as_enemy_combatant/

Graham, McCain: Hold Boston suspect as enemy combatant

Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Peter King joined them in arguing against a criminal trial for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

By Jillian Rayfield

Sens. Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Peter King argued against trying Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a criminal court, instead saying that he should be held as an enemy combatant and questioned.

“It is clear the events we have seen over the past few days in Boston were an attempt to kill American citizens and terrorize a major American city,” the four Republicans wrote in a joint statement. “The accused perpetrators of these acts were not common criminals attempting to profit from a criminal enterprise, but terrorists trying to injure, maim, and kill innocent Americans.

“The suspect, based upon his actions, clearly is a good candidate for enemy combatant status. We do not want this suspect to remain silent,” they wrote.

The statement continued on to praise law enforcement officials for their decision to invoke the public safety exception and not read Tsarnaev his Miranda Rights, but added that they were concerned that this is limited to 48 hours. “We should be focused on gathering intelligence from this suspect right now that can help our nation understand how this attack occurred and what may follow in the future. That should be our focus, not a future domestic criminal trial that may take years to complete,” the statement said.