Obama Releases Secret Post-9/11 Bush Memos on Terror Suspects

by Tina Kells | March 2, 2009 at 04:41 pm

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The Obama administration released nine documents Monday outlining some of the actions taken under the Bush administration to identify and deal with terror suspects.

Included in the nine once top secret anti-terrorism documents are post-9/11 memos discussing how the Bush administration planned collect evidence against terror suspects without warrants.

The documents released by the White House offer shocking insight into the ways the Bush adminsitration sought to suspend the civil rights of terror suspects. The memos made note of ways to get around the need for warrants when setting up wire taps, storming buildings, or seizing property.

In short, the anti-terror documents suggested treating those suspected of terrorism as if they were members of an invading army, in which case criminal procedure does not need to be followed.

The Justice Department on Monday released a long-secret legal document from 2001 in which the Bush administration claimed the military could search and seize terror suspects in the United States without warrants.
The legal memo was written about a month after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It says constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure would not apply to terror suspects in the U.S., as long as the president or another high official authorized the action.

Even after the Bush administration rescinded that legal analysis, the Justice Department refused to release its contents, prompting a standoff with congressional Democrats.

The memo was one of nine released Monday by the Obama administration.