War powers quiz for Miers
on Oct 26, 2005 at 5:58 pm
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has notified Supreme Court nominee Harriet E. Miers that he is prepared to examine closely at her nomination hearings how she would handle, as a judge, a wide range of issues on warmaking power under the Constitution. Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, outlined his plan in a detailed letter to Miers on Wednesday. (Thanks to How Appealing for the link.)
Specter’s letter attempts to get around claims by President Bush that senators want to probe inside the decision-making process at the White House. Instead of asking Miers how she may have advised Bush on any of the topics the letter raises, Specter asked in most of his questions what “jurisprudential factors” would guide her on the Supreme Court in examining issues of presidential and congressional power to take the country to war.
The letter also asked Miers what standard she would apply on the Court in deciding whether to take herself out of cases “on any subject where you have advised the President.” And it asks what assurances she could give that she would be independent on the Court “and not give President Bush any special deference on any matter involving him which might come before the Court.”
In the questions raising specific issues about war powers, Specter put the nominee on notice that he would seek to explore most of the currently live controversies over waging war, including the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq.
Here, in summary, are some of the lines of inquiry Specter said he would pursue with Miers on the witness stand:
** Limits on how long terrorism detainees may be held.
** Constitutional factors in judging presidential power to detain aliens outside U.S. borders.
** Ways to evaluate the majority and dissenting opinions in the Supreme Court’s 2004 rulings on the rights of war on terrorism captives.
** Legal factors to be weighed in deciding whether terrorism captives are to be held as “enemy combatants” and whether they have legal rights.
** Constitutional factors in judging whether Congress gave the President too much power in approving war in Iraq.
** The constitutional nature of the Korean conflict, as a war that Congress did not declare.
** Similarly, the constitutional nature of the Vietnam conflict.
Specter’s letter said he wanted to probe “the subject of Executive authority, especially in light of your close relationship with the President and the key positions you have held in the White House.”
