Following this weekend's bombings in New York and New Jersey, Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect in the case, was taken into custody following an exchange of fire with law enforcement that left two officers and Rahami himself injured. He was taken to a hospital, where he received surgery and, presumably, further care for his wounds. He's been charged with attempted murder for the two officers he shot, as well as with various charges related to the bombings. He will have a trial, in which he will plead guilty or attempt to defend himself. In his trial he will be represented by an attorney, who he will hire or who will be provided for him by the government.
These are basic Fifth Amendment rights. They apply to all citizens of this country. They also apply to all non-citizens, which was clarified in detail by the Supreme Court in the case of Wong Win v. United States in 1896, over a century ago. Justices were split over the issue in the 2001 case of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld of whether they applied to people who could be considered "enemy combatants," however, which is where we are today.
South Carolina Senator and USC alumnus Lindsey Graham is calling for Rahami to be treated as an enemy combatant. So is Donald Trump. Graham is upset that we're Mirandizing him before we interrogate him. Trump is angry that he's going to have an attorney and medical care. Both of those rights, due to the lack of clarity on the part of the courts, could possibly be suspended for enemy combatants.
But he's a U.S. citizen. He came to the U.S. when he was seven. He was raised here. He was naturalized in 2011. Whether or not we like to admit it, he's a homegrown terrorist — not an enemy combatant. There's never been any debate about whether to apply constitutional protections to citizens, as far as I know.
But here we are. Debating it. CNN is asking whether he should be given due process.
This shouldn't be a question. Of course we're treating Rahami in a hospital — we're required to, because he's protected by the Eighth Amendment, which prevents us from medically neglecting prisoners. Of course he's going to be Mirandized — we're required to do that, too, thanks to Miranda v. Arizona, which hinges on our Fifth Amendment rights. Of course he's going to get a lawyer, whether or not he can afford one — again, he's protected by the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees him the right to counsel, and the many, many Sixth Amendment cases that have clarified that right.
This is not debatable. Or it shouldn't be. Particularly not by members of the Republican Party, whose 2016 platform refers to them as the "Party of the Constitution" and repeatedly reaffirms their commitment to protecting us from the government with that document. Particularly not by Sen. Graham, who has a law degree and should know these things.
It's hypocritical to fight tooth and nail against government overreach in every other arena, but champion governmental control when it comes to how we are allowed to treat criminals. I didn't expect any better than this than from Trump, but to hear news organizations and elected representatives supporting stripping an American citizen of his Constitutional rights is genuinely disturbing.
I shouldn't have to say this, but setting this kind of precedent would be incredibly dangerous. Sen. Graham should be ashamed of his suggestion. As much as we may hate or dislike Rahami and his actions, he's still a U.S. citizen, and we are obligated — by the law and common sense — to treat him like one.