II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2943 

To require the Attorney General to consult with appropriate officials within 

the executive branch prior to making the decision to try an unprivileged 

enemy belligerent in Federal civilian court. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 21, 2010 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. ENSIGN, and 

Mr. BOND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Attorney General to consult with appropriate 

officials within the executive branch prior to making 

the decision to try an unprivileged enemy belligerent 

in Federal civilian court. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), no ac5 tion shall be taken by the Attorney General, or any officer 

6 or employee of the Department of Justice, to— 

7 (1) initiate a custodial interrogation of; or 


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1 (2) file a civilian criminal complaint, informa2 tion, or indictment against; 

3 any foreign person detained by the United States Govern4 ment because they may have engaged in conduct consti5 tuting an act of war against the United States, terrorism, 

6 or material support to terrorists, or activities in prepara7 tion therefor. 

8 (b) CONSULTATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

10 the Attorney General shall consult with the Director 

11 of National Intelligence, the Director of the National 

12 Counterterrorism Center, the Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security, and the Secretary of Defense prior to tak14 ing any action identified in subsection (a). 

15 (2) PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTION.—If, following 

16 consultation under paragraph (1), the Director of 

17 National Intelligence, the Director of the National 

18 Counterterrorism Center, the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security, or the Secretary of Defense believe that 

20 any action identified in subsection (a) and proposed 

21 by the Attorney General may prevent the collection 

22 of intelligence related to terrorism or threats of vio23 lence against the United States or its citizens, the 

24 Attorney General may not initiate such action with25 out specific direction from the President. 


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1 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney General shall 

2 report annually to appropriate committees of jurisdiction 

3 regarding the number of occasions on which direction was 

4 sought from the President under subsection (b)(2) and the 

5 number of times, on those occasions, that the President 

6 directed actions identified in section (a) against such for7 eign person. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF JURISDIC10 TION.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of juris11 diction’’ shall include— 

12 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

14 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 of the House of Representatives; 

16 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

17 the Senate; 

18 (D) the Permanent Select Committee on 

19 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

20 and 

21 (E) the Committees on Armed Services 

22 and Judiciary of the Senate and the Commit23 tees on Armed Services and Judiciary of the 

24 House of Representatives. 


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1 (2) ACT OF WAR, TERRORISM, MATERIAL SUP2 PORT TO TERRORISTS.—The terms ‘‘act of war’’, 

3 ‘‘terrorism’’, and ‘‘material support to terrorists’’ 

4 shall have the meanings given such terms in title 18, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (e) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

7 prevent the Attorney General, or any officer or employee 

8 of the Department of Justice, from apprehending or de9 taining an individual as authorized by the Constitution or 

10 laws of the United States except to the extent that activi11 ties incident to such apprehension or detention are specifi12 cally identified in subsection (a). 

Æ 


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