President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act if the final version includes certain provisions, including continuing restrictions on Guantanamo Bay detainee transfers that make it impossible for the administration to close the prison. The statement was issued Thursday, as the Senate debated the defense bill.
Legislators should be forgiven for not taking this threat too seriously.
The first big restrictions on Gitmo transfers passed in 2010. Attorney General Eric Holder called them "dangerous," but the administration did nothing. Then in January 2011, the administration's ability to move detainees out of Gitmo was curtailed again. The administration did nothing. They issued a formal veto threat in 2011 over provisions in that year's National Defense Authorization Act, then backed down.
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