Earlier this week, the administration explained that the president put his signature on a congressional measure banning torture, but Bush still believes he can ignore the law whenever he feels it’s necessary. Yesterday, three key senators who fought to pass the provision responded. Needless to say, they’re not happy.
John W. Warner Jr., a Virginia Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, issued a joint statement rejecting Bush’s assertion that he can waive the restrictions on the use of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment against detainees to protect national security.
”We believe the president understands Congress’s intent in passing, by very large majorities, legislation governing the treatment of detainees,” the senators said. ”The Congress declined when asked by administration officials to include a presidential waiver of the restrictions included in our legislation. Our committee intends through strict oversight to monitor the administration’s implementation of the new law.”
Separately, the third primary sponsor of the detainee treatment law, Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Republican of South Carolina, told the Globe in a phone interview that he agreed with everything McCain and Warner said ”and would go a little bit further.”
”I do not believe that any political figure in the country has the ability to set aside any . . . law of armed conflict that we have adopted or treaties that we have ratified,” Graham said. ”If we go down that road, it will cause great problems for our troops in future conflicts because [nothing] is to prevent other nations’ leaders from doing the same.”
This sets the stage for a fight over power, if the senators follow through. As David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues and has said some interesting things about this controversy, described the situation nicely.
”The president is pointing to his commander in chief power, claiming that it somehow gives him the power to dispense with the law when he’s conducting war,” Golove said. ”The senators are saying: ‘Wait a minute, we’ve gone over this. This is a law Congress has passed by very large margins, and you are compelled and bound to comply with it.’ “
The question is whether lawmakers will have the backbone to force Bush to follow the law. Impeachment proceedings would be a last resort, but Congress can take a variety of other steps to compel the president to adhere to the law, including withholding funds, issuing subpoenas, and passing stricter laws.
Warner, McCain, and Graham talked tough yesterday and I agreed with everything they said. But will they do their duty and follow through? Time will tell.