Mike Lee: Why would Lindsey Graham block a vote to protect Americans' due process rights?

On Thursday, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called out fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for blocking an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would protect Americans from detention without trial or charge.

Lee's Due Process Guarantee Act was authored with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and has bipartisan support. His law would amend a provision that was added to the NDAA in 2012 that enabled the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens on American soil.

"It simply says that if you are a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, you may not be indefinitely detained on U.S. soil without trial, without charge, without access to a jury or to counsel," Lee explained on the floor of the United States Senate Wednesday. A super-majority of senators voted against a motion to table Lee's amendment, agreeing that the amendment should receive a floor vote.

Unanimous consent of the Senate is required to bring up Lee's amendment to the NDAA, but Graham has objected, blocking a vote on the amendment. Lee gave a speech Thursday urging Graham to reconsider his actions and let the Senate vote on the amendment.

He posted a video of his speech to his personal Facebook account, writing that Graham's objection was "a curious one, given that the overwhelming majority of senators want to vote on this proposal, and especially considering that Senator Graham himself voted for a nearly identical version of this amendment six years ago!"

Indefinite detention, as authorized by section 1021 of the NDAA "violates everything we know about our system of government," Lee said. "It violates everything we know about the laws of any decent nation, any nation that recognizes the fundamental, essential, eternal dignity of the human soul. This is not something we do here in the United States."

"This is wrong, and the wrongness of that provision, which would be corrected by my amendment, is compounded still by the refusal of this body, by the refusal of one member of this body, one member out of 100, to allow us to get a vote on this. We must vote on this," Lee said.

He also took his case to Twitter, where among other things he said, "Anyone who doesn't want the Senate to vote on the Due Process Guarantee Act likes Nickleback. True fact!"

The Due Process Guarantee Act would protect U.S. citizens on U.S. soil from being detained indefinitely without charge, counsel, or trial.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 14, 2018

@SenFeinstein and I introduced the DPGA in 2012. It passed with 67 votes, but was somehow removed from the NDAA before final passage.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 14, 2018

Ever since 2012, @SenFeinstein and I have been trying to put the DPGA back into each year’s National Defense Authorization Act.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 14, 2018

Each year, @SenFeinstein and I have been told we’d get a vote on the DPGA “at some point,” but it has not happened. The time has come!

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 14, 2018

The American people cannot be asked to wait another moment before their due process rights are protected by the Due Process Guarantee Act.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 14, 2018

American citizens arrested on American soil should never be subject to indefinite detention without charge, trial, jury, or counsel.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

The DPGA, which I authored along with @SenFeinstein, was pending as an amendment to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

The DPGA should have received a vote in the Senate. A total of 68 senators voted against a motion to table the DPGA; they wanted a vote!

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Had we voted on the DPGA, it would have passed, protecting the due process rights of hundreds of millions of American citizens.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Why would anyone choose to vote against a bill restoring existing constitutional protections that have been undermined by a bad law?

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Why would a senator object to letting the Senate even VOTE on whether to protect Americans’ due process rights?

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Why block such a vote, especially when 68 senators wanted to take that vote?

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Where is the harm in a law saying that Americans can’t be indefinitely detained without charge or trial on US soil?

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

By contrast, imagine the immense harm that could come from a law that authorizes the indefinite detention of American citizens!

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Please tell your senators to support the Due Process Guarantee Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Let’s vote!

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

What kind of country would we have if we freely allowed our government to detain us indefinitely without charge, trial, or counsel?

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

The DPGA corrects the mistake Congress made in 2012 and protects Americans from indefinite government detention. https://t.co/RXgpkFeKUK.…

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

What’s the best argument you can think of for NOT letting the Senate vote on the Due Process Guarantee Act?

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Anyone who doesn’t want the Senate to vote on the Due Process Guarantee Act likes Nickleback. True fact!

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

Anyone who doesn’t want the Senate to pass the Due Process Guarantee Act enjoys the smell one experiences near a dog food factory.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 15, 2018

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