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Padilla: focus on President's powers

WASHINGTON: Lawyers for Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held as an ``enemy combatant'' for nearly four years, want the Supreme Court to resolve how much power a President has while the United States is at war.

Lawyers Donna Newman and Andrew Patel told the High Court in papers filed on Tuesday that the justices must step in ``to preserve the vital checks and balances'' on the President.

They cited the Bush Administration's interpretation of the President's war powers to justify its decision to hold Padilla — until recently — without charges in a military prison in South Carolina.

Padilla's lawyers also said President George W. Bush abused his war powers authority by approving warrantless surveillance of conversations between people in the United States and abroad who had suspected terrorist ties.

Such developments ``underscore the need for this court to address the fundamental constitutional questions presented by this case,'' the lawyers wrote.

— AP

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