Politico: DOJ Lawyer claimed Guantanmo prison searches are just like TSA searches
Dec 16, 2013, 12:33 pm
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Politico: DOJ Lawyer claimed Guantanmo prison searches are just like TSA searches
Here is an amazing bit of reporting by Politico's Josh Gerstein:
Politico:
Feds: Guantanamo searches not like TSA's
12/13/13 5:52 PM EST
Last Monday, Justice Department Attorney Edward Himmelfarb claimed in court that searches of Guantanamo prisoners heading to meet with their attorneys are comparable to searches that Transportation Security Administration performs of travelers at U.S. airports:
Politico:
Feds: Guantanamo searches not like TSA's
12/13/13 5:52 PM EST
Last Monday, Justice Department Attorney Edward Himmelfarb claimed in court that searches of Guantanamo prisoners heading to meet with their attorneys are comparable to searches that Transportation Security Administration performs of travelers at U.S. airports:
"As a couple of spokesmen for Guantanamo said in the articles that are in the record, it's basically like a TSA search at the airport...a supplemental search," Himmelfarb told the court, according to a recording of the argument. "That's basically what it is and people fly all the time, including devout Muslims. It's not as bad as it sounds. The genital area is touched through the clothing with a flat hand, the way the TSA does," he added.
However, in a letter sent to the court Friday afternoon (and posted here), Himmelfarb said he wished to revise his remarks.
"I would like to clarify that while the search procedures employed at Guantanamo bear some general similarities to patdown procedures employed at airport security checkpoints, the two sets of procedures are not identical. Although the Transportation Security Administration's patdown procedures cannot be publicly disclosed in detail...they differ in certain key respects from the searches conducted at Guantanamo," Himmelfarb wrote. "I regret any confusion my statements may have caused."
However, in a letter sent to the court Friday afternoon (and posted here), Himmelfarb said he wished to revise his remarks.
"I would like to clarify that while the search procedures employed at Guantanamo bear some general similarities to patdown procedures employed at airport security checkpoints, the two sets of procedures are not identical. Although the Transportation Security Administration's patdown procedures cannot be publicly disclosed in detail...they differ in certain key respects from the searches conducted at Guantanamo," Himmelfarb wrote. "I regret any confusion my statements may have caused."
Dec 16, 2013, 2:57 pm
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Politico: DOJ Lawyer claimed Guantanmo prison searches are just like TSA searches
Isn't it interesting that the TSA gropings are now used as the standard upon which other intrusive government searches are measured?
Worse yet, WE allowed it to happen.
Worse yet, WE allowed it to happen.
Dec 16, 2013, 3:38 pm
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I will never go into one of those cursed Nude-o-Scope machines. I will always opt out. If their flawed EDT test comes up positive, I will never consent to one of their "private room" searches. If that means that I am denied access to the fairy fartland they call the "sterile area," so be it. I will take names and sue everyone involved, personally and in their capacities.
Dec 16, 2013, 4:51 pm
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Heck with the private room search/"resolution" grope - we heard from many males that TSA screeners were cupping their testicles during the "enhanced" grope. I will admit that we have not heard that recently, however.
Dec 16, 2013, 4:52 pm
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Dec 16, 2013, 4:59 pm
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That is true too. The TSA can't do everything that other parts of the government have done or do to GTMO detainees. Force-feeding of detainees, for example -- some of which have been seen by current DOJ attorneys on FT. It isn't a pretty sight.
Dec 16, 2013, 5:08 pm
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Dec 16, 2013, 5:52 pm
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(And I'm not talking about physical searches).