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COPYRIGHT 2006 Voxant, Inc.
Original Source: CBS EVENING NEWS
BOB SCHIEFFER, CBS ANCHOR: I`m Bob Schieffer.
The Supreme Court tells the president he`ll have to find another way to deal with the terrorist suspects being held at Guantanamo. For now, military trials are out.
We`ll start there tonight. Then, we`ll have these stories.
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ANNOUNCER: This is the CBS EVENING NEWS with Bob Schieffer.
SCHIEFFER: Good evening. In a strongly worded rebuke, the Supreme Court told the president today his plan to use military tribunals to try inmates being held on terrorism charges at the Guantanamo prison violates U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions. In a 5-3 vote, the court essentially told the president he does not have the power to handle such detainees any way he chooses, because they are in U.S. custody and have certain rights under constitutional and international law.
We go first to Wyatt Andrews with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYATT ANDREWS, CBS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Osama bin Laden`s bodyguard versus the president`s plan for war tribunals, and the bodyguard, Salim Hamdan, won.
The Supreme Court ruled the administration`s attempt to try Guantanamo`s prisoners using military tribunals or commissions under rules written by the Pentagon is illegal.
"The military commission is not expressly authorized by Congress," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote. "Its structure and procedures violate military law and four Geneva Conventions."
It was a direct rejection of the president`s claim that Congress gave him the power to deal with the nation`s enemies as he sees fit. Hamdan`s lawyer called it a victory for the rule of law.
NEAL KATYAL, ATTORNEY: Some little guy, a fourth-grade educated Yemeni, like Mr. Hamdan, can sue the most powerful man in the world and win in our highest court. That`s something that is fundamentally great about America, something we should be celebrating to the rest of the world.
ANDREWS: Today`s ruling also rejects administration claims that al Qaeda prisoners are not protected under the Geneva Accords. The court flatly says they are.
But the ruling also gives the president a way out, suggesting that he use the court-martial system, or go back to Congress.
ANDREW COHEN, CBS NEWS ANALYST: The court is essentially telling the administration, look, you can prosecute these guys. You can have your military commission, but you have to give them the same rules that other people have.
ANDREWS: The Senate leadership immediately said it would draft a law permitting tribunals, and the president said that`s what he wants.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the extent that the Congress is giving any latitude to develop a way forward using military tribunals, we will work with them.
ANDREWS: The court ruling was 5-3, with Justice Clarence Thomas blasting the majority for second-guessing the president during war. "Our duty to defer to the executive`s military and foreign policy judgment is at its zenith," Thomas said.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREWS: But clearly, this Supreme Court is not deferring easily. Two...
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