Original sentence: Gonzales: The fact that the Constitution — again, there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution.On January 18 2007, Gonzales was invited to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he shocked the committee's ranking member, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, by stating that there was no guarantee to the right of Habeas Corpus in the United States Constitution.Senator Specter was referring to 2nd Clause of Section 9 of Article One of the Constitution of the United States which reads: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.Specter: Now, wait a minute
Edited sentence: A video of the exchange, as well as a more complete transcript can be found on Think Progress.GONZALES: The fact that the Constitution — again, there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution.In short, Habeas Corpus is the right of an individual to have a trial before he is jailed.It is the protection against arbitrary imprisonment.Most Constitutional Scholars believe the right of habeas is the very foundation of our legal system, where none are supposed to be above the law and none beneath it.On January 18 2007, Gonzales was invited to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he shocked the committee's ranking member, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, by stating that there was no right of Habeas Corpus in the United States Constitution.SPECTER: Now, wait a minute.The most likely explanation of why this statement shocked the Senator is that he is familiar with the 2nd Clause of Section 9 of Article One of the Constitution of the United States which reads: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.Without Habeas Corpus you have no right to tell anyone you have been arrested, you have no right to legal counsel, you have no right to protest your innocence or even mistaken identity