http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/down-the-road-amnesty-for-gitmo-detainees.phpPosted on November 28, 2014 by Steven Hayward
Down the Road: Amnesty for Gitmo Detainees?
We all remember how Bill Clinton left office with a flurry of pardons to dozens of dubious people, from fugitive financier Marc Rich (represented by an attorney named Eric Holder), to an obscure figure in Arkansas who had been jailed for rolling back automobile odometers. Touching how far Clinton’s pain-feeling extended.
How can Obama top this? Easy: if you think granting de facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens was a reach, wait till you see what he might do about Guantanamo. As is well known, Obama promised on Day One of his presidency to close Gitmo within a year. But then reality intruded, plus congressional legislation, when Democrats still controlled both houses, blocking him from bringing Gitmo detainees to the U.S. I’m guessing Obama remains determined to close Gitmo, and the one executive action he could take to accomplish this is simply to declare an amnesty for all of the remaining residents of Gitmo, and releasing them. If he does this in his last week in office, what could Republicans do? Impeach him?
Think this is farfetched? Over on HotAir, Ed Morrisey takes note of the fact the Department of Defense has quietly reclassified some Gitmo detainees from being “enemy combatants” to “unprivileged enemy.” Whenever you hear a liberal or bureaucrat use the word “privilege” these days, you can usually count on some nonsense following closely behind.
Some enterprising reporter ought to ask the White House press secretary whether Obama is contemplating executive action for Gitmo similar to his recent moves for illegal aliens.
