Over at Greg Sargent's place, I take down Marc Thiessen's misleading argument that the rule of law, rather than torture, is to blame for the obstacles the government is facing in the Ghailani case.
I posted before the latest ruling in that case came down, but Marcy Wheeler reports that the judge gave me an assist:
MCA 948r(a) and MCRE 304 preclude or restrict the use of “statements obtained by torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” and evidence derived threrefrom, and could require exclusion of Abebe's testimony. Even if they did not, the Constitution might do so, even in a military commission proceeding.
Crazy Constitution, always getting in the way of the freedom to try people based on statements you've tortured out of them.
