Carpetbagger Report: Court Bitch Slaps Bushies on Jose Padilla

From The Carpetbagger Report:

The legal background on alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla is a long and bizarre tale. It's important, though, particularly after yesterday.

Padilla, an American citizen, was first "arrested" in Chicago in May 2002 under suspicion that he was involved with a plan to detonate a radiological "dirty bomb." Padilla was named an enemy combatant in the war on terror, which meant, as far as the administration was concerned, that he had no right to counsel and could be held indefinitely without being charged with a crime. His case ultimately went to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals — the most conservative court in the nation — which ruled in the Bush administration's favor. Padilla, the 4th Circuit said, could be held however the administration wanted.

As Kevin Drum explained well last night, Padilla could appeal to the Supreme Court, where the Bush administration believed it was likely to lose. To avoid that embarrassing setback, the government asked the 4th Circuit to reverse itself. The appeals court was not amused.

Padilla, you may recall, is the fellow the Bushies want us to believe went from Taco Bell's 3rd shift to Al Qaeda mastermind in no time flat. Right.