Senator Feinstein is right to fight for the removal of onerous provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the government to imprison American citizens indefinitely and without trial if they are suspected of terrorism.
The National Defense Authorization Act, as it currently stands, would not only weaken our nation's ability to fight terrorism by taking interrogation and prosecutorial functions out of the hands of the F.B.I., federal prosecutors, and the federal courts and transferring that authority to the military; it would also overturn one of the basic tenets of American jurisprudence: that all citizens have the right to trial.
Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Leahy (D-VT), the chairs of the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees respectively, both oppose the National Defense Authorization Act as it currently stands, as do the Department of Justice and President Obama. An amendment to the act that would have removed the provisions allowing for indefinite detention of citizens without trial was defeated yesterday and as such, President Obama has promised to veto the bill.
California Democrats are proud to have Senator Feinstein leading this fight.
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