are opposing a bill that would block the Justice Department from prosecuting detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in U.S. courts, reports The Associated Press. The news service says the administration officials stated in an Oct. 30 letter that they want the option of prosecuting detainees in military or civilian courts. Sens. Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Joe Lieberman are pushing the legislative measure that would bar the Justice Department from spending funds on prosecuting detainees in U.S. Courts.
ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper also reports on his Political Punch blog that the administration will announce within the next couple of weeks "the names of detainees in Guantanamo Bay whom federal prosecutors plan on trying in U.S. civilian courts and which ones they will send to a military commission." In a recent guest post for ACSblog, Eric Montalvo, senior litigation counsel at Tully Rinckey PLLC in Washington, D.C. and a former Marine Corps Judge Advocate (JAG), examines the use of military commissions, saying that they "do not present defendants with a meaningful opportunity to challenge the bases of the detention."