Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) threatened to sue the Obama administration if it unilaterally attempts to shutdown the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Speaking to The Hill this week, the Senate Armed Services Committee chair said he “would want to go to court,” should President Obama move to close the notorious facility without Congressional approval.
The White House could claim that under Article 2 of the Constitution, the president is Commander in Chief in charge of both troop movements and military prisoner movements, and thus has authority to close Guantanamo; despite laws passed by Congress that forbid him from doing so.
“Of course it’s not in his authority,” McCain countered. “That’s not my interpretation of the Constitution nor any constitutional expert that I know that doesn’t work in the White House,” he added.
McCain generally supports the administration’s effort to close the infamous post-9/11 prison, but has demanded to first see a plan on how the White House would handle the remaining individuals detained there—many of whom have been deemed too dangerous to be released, yet can’t be charged with a crime due to lack of evidence or the conditions of their confinement.
Congress approved of a revised National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week that contained prohibitions on Guantanamo detainee transfers to certain countries, including the US.
President Obama is expected to sign the policy bill, despite the restrictions. He has in the past, though, issued signing statements declaring similar provisions unconstitutional.
“The executive branch must have the flexibility, with regard to those detainees who remain, to determine when and where to prosecute them, based on the facts and circumstances of each case and our national security interests, and when and where to transfer them consistent with our national security and our humane treatment policy,” Obama wrote in a statement attached to last year’s NDAA.
Upping the chances that the White House could move alone on Guantanamo were comments made last week by Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
“At this point, I would not take anything off the table in terms of the president doing everything that he can to achieve this critically important national security objective,” he told reporters.
