In the wake of congressional passage of an authorization to use military force against Al Qaeda and its allies in 2001, the White House asserted that it had the authority to seize suspected terrorists and hold them indefinitely without trial.
That position was codified into law with the passage of the Defense Authorization Act in 2011. However, the Obama administration has issued rules barring the indefinite detention of American citizens.
Paul has long wanted to chip away even more at indefinite detention, seeing it as an overreach of executive power that’s unconstitutional.
“If we don’t change this, believe me, this country is in serious trouble,” he said earlier this month at a press conference of lawmakers who are pushing to end indefinite detention authority.
Paul would like to the Republican Party platform to reflect this position. That’s what he said in May when he issued a statement that he would no longer campaign in states that had not yet held primary votes.
That is unlikely to happen, however. Romney is already on record as supporting the indefinite detention power. He, like many in the GOP, sees it as a means of treating terrorists like military enemies.
“I do believe that it’s appropriate to have in our nation the capacity to detain people who are threats to this country and who are members of Al Qaeda,” said Romney at a Fox News debate in January.
Some audience members at that debate booed Romney’s answer – presumably, they were Paul supporters, or at least people who support Paul’s position on this issue.
