Ron Paul calls for repeal of detainee rules, slams Lindsey Graham

By Pete Kasperowicz - 01/18/12 12:37 PM ET

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) took to the House floor Wednesday morning to call on his colleagues to support his new legislation that would repeal controversial language that he and others believe could lead to the detention of Americans for terrorist activities without due process.

Paul’s bill would repeal Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which President Obama has already signed into law. That section states that the government can detain anyone who has “substantially supported certain terrorist groups.”

Presidential candidate Paul criticized Republicans who supported the bill, and in particular slammed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who was widely quoted last year as saying about future detainees, “When they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them, ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer.’”

“Is this acceptable in someone who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution?” Paul asked.

While it is stated in the NDAA that this provision does not apply to U.S. citizens, Paul and others worry that the language is vague and might be used against U.S. citizens.

“Section 1021 provides for the possibility of the U.S. military acting as a kind of police force on U.S. soil, apprehending terror suspects, including Americans, and whisking them off to an undisclosed location indefinitely,” Paul said. “This is precisely the kind of egregious distortion of justice that Americans have always ridiculed in so many dictatorships overseas.”