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Reports: Obama May Defy Congress Over Guantanamo Detainees

   VOA News 04 January 2011
   Photo  reviewed  by the U.S. military shows a guard looking out from a
   tower  in front of the detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval
   Base in Cuba.

Photo: AP

   Photo  reviewed  by the U.S. military shows a guard looking out from a
   tower  in front of the detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval
   Base in Cuba. (file)

   U.S.  news  outlets say the White House is considering using a special
   written  pronouncement  to reject congressional lawmakers' attempts to
   limit  President  Barack  Obama's  authority  to transfer inmates from
   Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
   The  restrictions  are  included  in  a massive military spending bill
   approved  by  Congress  late last month.  They ban the president from
   moving  any prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to U.S. soil for prosecution
   in a civilian court, and prohibit the transfer of prisoners to foreign
   countries without the approval of the secretary of defense.
   A  small  group of Obama advisers is debating whether to recommend the
   president  issue  what is known as a "signing statement" when he signs
   the  defense  bill  into  law,  asserting  he  has  the constitutional
   authority to bypass the restrictions.
   Such  a  statement would likely lead to a clash between the Democratic
   president  and  congressional Republicans, who are set to take control
   of the House of Representatives this week.

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