Lawmakers demand hearings on executive order

WASHINGTON -- Black lawmakers and some of the House's more liberal white Democrats and conservative Republicans are urging hearings into President Bush's decision to try by military tribunals foreigners charged with acts of terror.

"They're literally dismantling justice and the justice system as we know it," Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday. She suggested the effects could "spill over into domestic affairs."

The Justice Department has refused to disclose identities or status of more than 1,100 people arrested or detained in the weeks since the Sept. 11 attacks, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said their incarceration "smacks of racial profiling."

She and Waters are black.

Conservative Rep. Bob Barr, a white Republican from Georgia, said he objected to the president acting without consulting with Congress or waiting to see whether recently expanded investigative powers are sufficient to fight terrorism. Barr, a former federal prosecutor, said he was disturbed by the "fundamental changes to federal law and procedure" in the order.

No decision yet

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he plans hearings. Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee, said no decision had been made as of Friday whether to hold hearings.

Bush signed an executive order Tuesday approving the tribunals, which could bring terror suspects to trial faster and in more secrecy than normal criminal courts. His order did not require congressional approval.

Under the order, Bush would decide when to use a military court. It is unclear whether the government would have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but the right to appeal a conviction or sentence would be much more limited than in civilian courts. Lawyers say the government likely would be able to use hearsay statements and evidence collected through normally unconstitutional searches or wiretaps.