I haven't seen a thread on this yet, so I'll go right ahead. Apparently the Bush administration does not believe that the right of habeas corpus is a given in the U.S.A., because the Constitution spells it out negatively. In other words, the Constitution says that habeas corpus cannot be suspended except in very specific circumstances, but it never says "and this means that habeas corpus is a right."

A bit convoluted, no? And what does this mean for the other rights which are declared in the negative? The First Amendment is riddled with 'em. Are those all not-quite-rights as well? Very strange stuff.

From the article:

“There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales’s remark left Specter, the committee’s ranking Republican, stammering.

“Wait a minute,” Specter interjected. “The Constitution says you can’t take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there’s a rebellion or invasion?”

Gonzales continued, “The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended” except in cases of rebellion or invasion.”

“You may be treading on your interdiction of violating common sense,” Specter said.