Senate Republicans are demanding that President Obama release additional details on detainees that are transferred out of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp.
Republican Sens. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), James Inhofe (Okla.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Tim Scott (S.C.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) sent a letter to Obama saying they are concerned about a “lack of transparency” regarding who is being released from the camp.
{mosads}”When a detainee is transferred, the only specific information released by the Department of Defense is the detainee’s name and the name of the country to which the detainee will be transferred,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was sent Thursday but released Friday. “As a result, Americans are left in the dark regarding the detainee’s potential membership in al Qaeda or its affiliates, terrorist training, or previous hostile actions against U.S. troops.”
The lawmakers added that, without the information, including what will happen to detainees once they are transferred, “it is difficult for Americans to accurately assess the wisdom of transferring these detainees.”
The senators want the president to hand over extra information on the 112 detainees currently at Guantánamo Bay, including any previous terrorism ties, if they were involved in attacks against U.S. troops or their allies, and if they are a high-risk threat to the United States.
Additionally, during any future detainee transfers, they want the administration to say if the detainees will be held in the country they are being transferred to or if they will be allowed to leave.
The letter is the latest skirmish between Republican lawmakers and the administration over a looming battle to close the controversial prison camp before Obama leaves office.
The administration is expected to hand over a plan to lawmakers on closing Guantánamo, which would likely include moving dozens of the 112 detainees to U.S. facilities. Republicans are suggesting they will reject the proposal, and Congress recently passed a defense bill that would ban transferring detainees into the United States.
The administration, however, hasn’t ruled out using executive action, which would likely spark a legal battle over the detainees. Republican lawmakers are already pledging that they would want to take the president to court if he tries to leapfrog Congress.
The senators are asking that administration provide the information in a declassified setting, so it could be shared with constituents.
They added, in the letter, that “any argument that this information cannot be declassified safely and provided to the American people creates the appearance that the administration does not want the American people to know the truth about the detainees at Guantánamo and those being transferred to other countries.”