Rand Paul Slams McCain Over Removal of Protections Against Detention

Says the former presidential-wannabe stripped it out of the NDAA in conference committee

Federal lawmakers are once again clashing over how to treat American citizens accused of terrorism, after Congress quietly stripped a provision from a defense bill that was intended to prevent indefinite detention without trial.

In November the Senate voted overwhelmingly to amend the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to curb indefinite detention. California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee introduced the amendment.

But the House did not pass similar language, and a conference committee that convened to resolve the differences between the two versions declined to include the Feinstein-Lee amendment.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul quickly blamed his party's 2008 presidential nominee, blasting a "McCain-led NDAA conference committee" for the omission.