Washington–Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released the following joint statement on detention provisions contained in the National Defense Authorization Act:

“We have long supported providing the administration with the flexibility to address terrorism cases, including the ability to prosecute terrorists in federal criminal courts. Regrettably, the so-called ‘agreement’ reached today in the Senate Armed Services Committee will only harm the efforts of intelligence and law enforcement officials to bring to justice those who would harm Americans here and abroad.

“The bill reported by the Armed Services Committee today does little to resolve our stated concerns and those of the administration about mandatory military custody, including the potential for this bill to create operational confusion and problems in the field.  We have said before that these proposals are unwise, and will harm our national security. That is as true today as it ever has been.

“Neither the Senate Judiciary Committee nor the Senate Intelligence Committee—the committees with primary jurisdiction over terrorism matters—were consulted in the drafting of the proposals approved today by the Armed Services Committee. We continue to oppose these measures.”

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