Sen. Mike Johanns votes to allow military to detain you indefinitely — twice

The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, voted for by Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns, contains a provision that could be called the "Abdulmutallab rule," named after "Underwear Bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. From Mother Jones:

The provision mandates the military detention of terrorism suspects believed to be members of Al Qaeda-affiliated groups, even if they're apprehended on American soil. This turns the presumption of innocence on its head, since it essentially concludes someone is a terrorist without so much as a trial.   The bill also authorizes the indefinite military detention of American citizens and permanent residents if they are suspected of links to Al Qaeda, something so controversial that even the Bush administration balked at it, slipping Jose Padilla back into the criminal justice system after years of military detention in order to avoid a confrontation with the Supreme Court.

As if that weren't bad enough, when Colorado Sen. Mark Udall introduced an amendment to strip the outrageously unconstitutional provision from the Defense Authorization bill, Johanns also voted to shoot that down.

Mike Johanns did this, despite the fact...

that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta opposes the maneuver. So does CIA Director David Petraeus, who usually commands deference from senators in both parties. Pretty much every security official has lined up against the Senate detention provisions, from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to FBI Director Robert Mueller, who worry that they’ll get in the way of FBI investigations of domestic terrorists.

You might consider reminding Senator Johanns that most constituents expect him to defend democracy and civil liberties, not subvert them.

Sen. Mike Johanns
404 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-4224
Fax: (202) 228-0436
Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. ET