Out of our concern regarding the suspension of habeas corpus provided in the Military Commissions Act of 2006, we contacted our U.S. Senator (the Honorable Carl Levin) and our local Michigan State (District 11) Congressman (the Honorable Thaddeus McCotter). The Honorable Carl Levin graciously responded to our queries with the following email message. (Mr. McCotter's response is not available at this time - it should be noted that Mr. Levin and Mr. McCotter always respond to their constituent's inquiries, without fail. For that, they have our deepest respect).

Note: the italicized, boldface paragraph is our own, and not Mr. Levin's. Paragraphing may not be original, due to typical formatting problems with copy and pasting of printable email subject matter. We also apologize for any confusion with the S bill numbers regarding the Military Commissions Act of 2006. We will be consulting with The Congressional Record for facts and details.

Here is the letter in its entirety:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding the Military Commission Act of 2006 (P.L.109-366). I appreciate hearing your views on this important subject.

As you may know, the Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld declared that military commissions, established by the President, violated both U.S. and international law and therefore lacked the “power to proceed.” The Court ruled that Congress has the responsibility to establish standards for the military commissions if they are to be used.On September 14, 2006, the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which I am the Ranking Member, favorably reported S.3901 to the full Senate by a bipartisan vote of 15-9.

The bill met two critical tests. First, the bill was consistent with our American system of justice and would stand up to judicial review. Second, the United States would be able to live with the procedures we established if the tables were turned and our own troops were subject to similar procedures.

Although I had some reservations about the habeas corpus provisions of the bill, I felt they were issues that could be resolved by the full Senate. S.3901 would have provided the administration with the tools it needed to detain enemy combatants, conduct interrogations, and prosecute detainees for any war crimes. Unfortunately, S. 3901 went off the tracks after it was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Senate Majority Leader refused to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor. Instead, he took up a different bill that closely resembled the Administration’s proposals. The Bush Administration has been relentless in its efforts to legitimize the abuse of detainees, to protect those who authorize the abuses, and to distort military commission procedures to ensure criminal convictions. This bill, the Military Commissions Act (P.L. 109-366), failed to meet either of the two critical tests addressed by the bipartisan Armed Services Committee bill.

The Military Commissions Act proposed by the Administration and the Senate Majority Leader prohibits the use of statements obtained through cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment only if those statements were obtained after December 30, 2005, the date the Detainee Treatment Act, which prohibits cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, was enacted.

The act contains no prohibition on statements obtained through methods prior to that date. This provision, in other words, implicitly authorizes military commissions to consider evidence that was obtained through cruel and inhuman treatment of defendants and other witnesses at an earlier time. By failing to adhere to the bedrock principle that statements obtained through cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees should be precluded from evidence, regardless of when they were obtained, this act sets an unacceptable standard. It is a standard under which our troops could be subjected to abuse and mistreatment of all kinds.

Further, if statements obtained through cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees are allowed into evidence, any resulting convictions are unlikely to withstand scrutiny upon judicial review in our own courts. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Court pointed out that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention prohibits the passing of sentences “without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized people.” I believe P.L.109-366 fails to meet this standard.

I also opposed the provisions eliminating habeus corpus rights for all suspected aliens, including permanent residents, detained inside or outside the United States. By depriving detainees of the opportunity to demonstrate that they were detained in error, this act not only deprives individuals of a fundamental right deeply embedded in American law, it also helps ensure the Administration will not be held to account for the illegal or abusive treatment of detainees. On the Senate floor, I offered the original bill, approved by a bipartisan majority of the Senate Armed Services Committee as a substitute amendment for the version on the Senate floor. Unfortunately my amendment was defeated 43-54.

Therefore, I opposed the military commission bill, which was signed into law by the President on October 17, 2006.We have always sought to hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to human rights and the rule of law. While others may engage in cruel and inhuman acts, we should not.

Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely, Carl Levin"