Following the 9/11 attacks and the establishment of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, McConnell co-sponsored the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (S. 3930). President George W. Bush signed it on October 17, 2006.
The law authorized military tribunals — not civilian courts — to try "unlawful enemy combatants." It stripped detainees of the right to file habeas corpus petitions in federal court, meaning the government could imprison people indefinitely without allowing them to challenge their detention before an independent judge. It also granted retroactive immunity (back to 1997) to U.S. officials for actions that could constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.
How It Harmed Americans:
Habeas corpus — the right to challenge unlawful imprisonment — is one of the oldest and most fundamental protections in Anglo-American law, dating to the Magna Carta of 1215. The Military Commissions Act gutted this right not just for foreign nationals, but set a precedent that eroded it for everyone.
In 2008, the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the law in Boumediene v. Bush, ruling 5–4 that the Guantanamo detainees did retain constitutional habeas corpus rights. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that "the laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times." The law also shielded government officials from accountability for torture and abuse — a legacy of impunity.
Reference List:
S. 3930, Military Commissions Act of 2006, 109th Congress
Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 (2008)
American Civil Liberties Union, "The Military Commissions Act of 2006: A Short Primer"
Human Rights Watch, "U.S.: Military Commissions Act a Betrayal of American Values" (2006)
The law authorized military tribunals — not civilian courts — to try "unlawful enemy combatants." It stripped detainees of the right to file habeas corpus petitions in federal court, meaning the government could imprison people indefinitely without allowing them to challenge their detention before an independent judge. It also granted retroactive immunity (back to 1997) to U.S. officials for actions that could constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.
How It Harmed Americans:
Habeas corpus — the right to challenge unlawful imprisonment — is one of the oldest and most fundamental protections in Anglo-American law, dating to the Magna Carta of 1215. The Military Commissions Act gutted this right not just for foreign nationals, but set a precedent that eroded it for everyone.
In 2008, the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the law in Boumediene v. Bush, ruling 5–4 that the Guantanamo detainees did retain constitutional habeas corpus rights. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that "the laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times." The law also shielded government officials from accountability for torture and abuse — a legacy of impunity.
Reference List:
S. 3930, Military Commissions Act of 2006, 109th Congress
Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 (2008)
American Civil Liberties Union, "The Military Commissions Act of 2006: A Short Primer"
Human Rights Watch, "U.S.: Military Commissions Act a Betrayal of American Values" (2006)