Opinion: Sotomayor hearings: Feingold takes a swipe at Bush administration
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Sen. Russell D. Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, singled out what he called one of the most important qualities for a Supreme Court justice: courage.
He brought up courage while recounting actions by the high court to counter anti-terrorism efforts by the Bush administration. The implication: The court showed courage standing up against President Bush.
He noted that, in recent years, the Supreme Court repeatedly rebuffed the Bush administration on a number of fronts. The court said no, he said, to “setting up a law-free zone in Guantanamo Bay,” where suspected terrorists have been held for years.
The court said no when the Bush administration tried to strip habeas-corpus rights from prisoners at Guantanamo. He cited other examples as well.
He quoted former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said that a “state of war is not a blank check for the president.”
Feingold is the sixth of 19 senators delivering opening statements in the first day of Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing.
-- Steve Padilla
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