WATCH: Lindsey Graham vs. Dick Durban Fight over Guantanamo Terror Detainees

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) clashed Tuesday over the issue of the release of detainees from the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, during the confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Graham had just concluded his questioning of Judge Jackson, noting that in her previous career as a federal public defender, she had provided legal services for terror detainees in the early days after the 9/11 attacks.

Jackson stressed that she had been deeply moved by the attacks, and noted that her brother had been motivated to join the military by the attacks. But she also stressed that under the Constitution, every individual had the right to a legal defense.

Graham probed further, questioning Judge Jackson whether the executive branch had the authority to hold terror detainees indefinitely as “enemy combatants.” Jackson seemed unable to recall that she had argued against that power in her briefs on behalf of her clients. (The New York Times reported last month that Jackson has previously said of her filings in the detainee cases: ““The briefs did not necessarily represent my personal views with regard to the war on terror or anything else.”)

While noting that he accepted Jackson’s role as a defense lawyer was constitutional and a legitimate form of public service, he noted his strong disagreement with the policy of letting terror detainees go, noting that Guantánamo had a recidivism rate of 31%, and that the inmates released by the Obama administration had gone on to hold leading roles in the Taliban regime, which seized power from the legitimate government of Afghanistan during a rapid sweep across the country last summer.

After Graham had completed his round of questioning, which included several attacks at Democrats for criticizing the faith of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and for similar attacks on past nominees, Durbin defended the release of “Gitmo” detainees.

Durbin claimed that the recidivism rate was only 5%, rather than 31%, and claimed it would be less costly to house Gitmo detainees at a federal prison in Colorado. Graham interjected, demanding the right to respond. He questioned Durbin about whether he agreed that terror detainees could be held indefinitely — hinting at the fact that any terrorist brought to prison in the U.S. could theoretically be released into the general American population. Durbin chose not to answer the question.

Graham concluded angrily, saying that he did not care whether all of the terror detainees died in prison, or how much it cost, because he was determined to ensure they did not return to the fight, and because the Democrats’ policy on terror had failed.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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