Judge: No Charges Needed

It had seemed that Guantanamo Bay would be leaving the national conversation, but on the heels of the Democrats’ stripping of funding for the prison’s closure, a federal judge has said that the United States can continue to hold some prisoners at Guantanamo Bay without charges. “U.S. District Judge John Bates' opinion issued Tuesday night limited the Obama administration's definition of who can be held,” according to the Associated Press. “But he said Congress in the days after Sept. 11, 2001 gave the president the authority to hold anyone involved in planning, aiding or carrying out the terrorist attacks.” In his decision, Bates wrote "the president has the authority to detain persons that the president determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, and persons who harbored those responsible for those attacks.”