Pelosi Statement on Signing of Military Commissions Bill
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. â€" House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the military commissions bill that President Bush signed into law this morning:
“Democrats voted overwhelmingly to go to war in Afghanistan so that those responsible for the 9/11 attacks would be brought to justice. More than five years later, because of the failure of the Bush Administration to devise a legal process that could withstand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court, not a single person who planned the attacks has been tried and convicted.
“That record of failure is unlikely to be improved by the military commissions bill President Bush signed today. Legal challenges to the bill may result in convictions being overturned, punishments being set aside, and justice being further delayed. In addition, because the bill allows the President to interpret the Geneva Conventions through executive order, it invites other countries to do the same, thereby weakening the international legal standards that have protected our troops for decades.
“Democrats want terrorists who kill Americans tried, convicted, and punished through a constitutionally sound process that will be upheld on appeal. That goal will not be achieved by the bill President Bush signed into law today.�