Supremes let Bush officials off hook for abuse

Just after 9/11, the federal government detained almost 800 foreign nationals - most of them Arabs or Muslims - at a federal prison in New York. Many were detained for about a year with no trial - and a large number were physically or verbally abused outright.

One of the detainees who was abused was a Pakistani who later pleaded guilty to having false Social Security papers and was deported.

And he probably should have been deported for this offense. I have little doubt about that. Even so, the abuse he suffered during his detention is unacceptable. The United States is supposed to be a leader in humanity, and if the government abuses people accused of immigration violations, it bodes ill for the country's future.

Later, the man filed suit against top Bush officials for allowing the abuse. Among the defendants were then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.

And the man has every right to sue.

But the legal eagles of the U.S. Supreme Court think not.

Yesterday, the Supremes ruled that these officials cannot be named as defendants in a lawsuit alleging detainee abuse. The high court overturned a lower court ruling allowing the suit.

This ruling is an activist one, and a reader of another website called it "a huge load of poo." It also means Bush regime officials are in effect above the law. The abuse was illegal, and now officials can't even be held responsible for it?

Not surprisingly, this is another 5 to 4 ruling - with the usual matchbook law jurists composing the 5.

Now anyone can be abused in any American detention facility, and nobody who ordered the abuse can even be held liable - all because the Supreme Court pulls rulings out of its ass like this. There's no legal basis for making high-ranking officials immune from abuse suits. None.

(Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE54H3CF20090518?sp=true)