U.S. Attorney General Opposes Barack Obama's Plan for Closing Guantanamo

Edited by Pavel Jacomino
2016-06-22 16:17:18

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Washington, June 22 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama is facing opposition again from within his own administration over plans to close the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a report.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, appointed as the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) by Obama two years ago, is opposing a White House-backed proposal that would allow detained terrorism suspects who plead guilty to terrorism charges to serve their sentences in a third-country prison, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The proposal would allow Guantanamo detainees to plead guilty to terrorism charges in federal court by videoconference, according to senior administration officials.  The plan would thus bypass a congressional ban on transferring detainees to U.S. soil, which has left dozens of prisoners in long-term confinement in Guantanamo.

Over the past three months, Lynch has twice intervened to block White House proposals on the issue, objecting that they would violate longstanding rules of criminal-justice procedure.

Obama has vowed to close Guantanamo before the end of his presidency.  But while he has overseen the release of some 160 detainees from the facility, the prison still detains 80 prisoners.



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