Ashcroft denounces 'intrusive' federal judges

WASHINGTON - Federal judges are jeopardizing national security by issuing rulings contradictory to President Bush's decisions on America's obligations under international treaties and agreements, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday.

In his first remarks since his resignation was announced Tuesday, Ashcroft forcefully denounced what he called "a profoundly disturbing trend" among some judges to interfere in the president's constitutional authority to make decisions during war.

"The danger I see here is that intrusive judicial oversight and second-guessing of presidential determinations in these critical areas can put at risk the very security of our nation in a time of war," Ashcroft told the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers group.

The Bush administration announced Friday it would appeal a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robertson in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who the government contends was Osama bin Laden's driver.

Robertson halted Hamdan's trial by military commission, rejecting the administration's position that the Geneva Conventions governing prisoners of war do not apply to al-Qaida members.

Without mentioning that case, Ashcroft criticized rulings he said found "expansive private rights in treaties where they never existed" that run counter to the broad discretionary powers given the president by the Constitution.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said: "It's entirely in line with his overt hostility to dissent, debate and judicial review. That further underscores the need for a wholesale review of Mr. Ashcroft's policies and a new direction in the Justice Department."

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