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Plans are already being made to empty Guantanamo. Some prisoners would be released, some would be tried in U.S. criminal courts, but it seems there will be a third category for high-value detainees, a “a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases.” It’s obviously better than permanent detention, but a lot will turn on the specifics of the court, and given the past few years there will be resistance to anything that isn’t done in the criminal courts or a military tribunal.
The most buzzworthy bit of obscure administrative law that may soon become very, very important: the Congressional Review Act of 1996, a Republican Revolution-era act that allows a new president to overturn last-minute regulations created by the outgoing president. It’s only been used once, to overturn Clinton administration ergonomics regulations, but a Democratic congress could allow Obama to flip whatever Bush decides to do on the way out.
