White House Is Drafting Executive Order to Allow Indefinite Detention; Move Would Bypass Congress, 26 June 2009, by: Dafna Linzer and Peter Finn

At Guantanamo Bay's Camp 5 detention center, a guard stands near the shadow of a detainee. The Obama administration plans to bypass Congress with an executive order allowing indefinite detention, according to government officials. (Photo: Getty Images)
Source: ProPublica and The Washington Post

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, is drafting an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate suspected terrorists indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former President George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

...