Bush detainee plan draws renewed fire

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration wants a new system for trying suspected terrorists to let prosecutors withhold classified evidence from the accused, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday, holding to a hard line on detainee policy despite concerns by senators and military lawyers.

"We must not share with captured terrorists the highly sensitive intelligence that may be relevant to military commission proceedings," Gonzales told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Gonzales said detainee legislation also should permit hearsay and coerced testimony, if deemed "reliable" by a judge. Such approaches aren't allowed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, used for courts-martial.

The administration's plans have sounded alarms on Capitol Hill and among the military's legal corps.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, before Gonzales' remarks, the armed services' judge advocates general — their top uniformed legal officers — said they would not support passing a law that would bar defendants from accessing evidence, which is considered a fundamental right in civilian and military courts.

GOP senators who have been negotiating a final legislative proposal with the administration said they, too, were unconvinced the administration's position was sound.

"We haven't reached a final decision on how we're going to handle it," but it is important to have "this statute be able to survive any subsequent federal court review process," said Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said he opposes withholding evidence because of the dangerous precedent it sets.

"If the only way we can try this terrorist is to disclose classified information, and we can't share it with the accused, I would argue, don't do the trial. Just keep them. Because it could come back to haunt us," said Graham, R-S.C.

Gonzales played down the effect of denying classified evidence to suspected terrorists. "I think it would be an extraordinary case where classified information would be used and would not be provided to the accused," he said.

Gonzales provided the latest details on how the administration would retool the tribunals that President Bush established in 2001. The Supreme Court in June rejected the system as not having been authorized by Congress and as violating international treaty obligations. Administration officials have yet to unveil their proposal, which is being examined by military lawyers.

Warner, R-Va., said he may convene hearings during the August congressional recess so that the legislation can be finished by September.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would oppose authorizing the defense secretary, instead of Congress, to determine what crimes may be tried by military tribunals.

Steven Bradbury, the top legal adviser at the Justice Department, confirmed the administration was considering granting the defense secretary such authority, but added: "I would not say that the secretary of defense would be creating new crimes from whole cloth, but rather ... recognizing offenses that exist under the laws of war and providing for their prosecution in the military process."