As most know by now, SCOTUS has ruled in favor of Hamdan 5-3, about which Andy McCarthy wrote this in his “pre-mortem”:
[I]t seems like there’s a prevailing view that if — as expected — the decision comes out in favor of Hamdan, the theory will be that al Qaeda does have Geneva Convention protections.
Make no mistake: if this happens, the Supreme Court will have dictated that we now have a treaty with al Qaeda — which no President, no Senate, and no vote of the American people would ever countenance.
I’d venture to say that the Hamdan decision will provide the perfect opportunity for the media to leave behind the messy New York Times article and refocus their attention on President Bush with renewed vigor. Expect the major editorial pages tomorrow to be filled with more “abuses of power” and “unchecked executive branch” talk.
UPDATE: Here’s a roundup of media reactions.
AP calls it a “strong rebuke”:
The ruling, a strong rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and international Geneva conventions.
Washington Post calls it a “stunning rebuke”:
The Supreme Court today delivered a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration over its plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, ruling that the commissions are unconstitutional.
Reuters calls it a “major defeat”:
In a major defeat for the Bush administration, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the military tribunal for a Guantanamo prisoner cannot proceed because it violates the Geneva Conventions.
CNN calls it a “major test”:
The case was a major test of Bush’s authority as commander-in-chief during war. Bush has aggressively asserted the power of the government to capture, detain, and prosecute suspected terrorists in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
MSNBC features the AP “rebuke” quote:
NYT calls it a “sweeping rebuke”:
The Supreme Court today delivered a sweeping rebuke to the Bush administration, ruling that the military tribunals it created to try terror suspects violate both American military law and the Geneva Convention.
Consensus among the media: The ruling was a strong, stunning, major, and sweeping rebuke for the Bush administration.