WASHINGTON

GONZALES: HIGH COURT NOT BOUND BY ROE V. WADE

The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court “is not obliged to follow” the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Gonzales said yesterday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts’s appointment that would put a new vote on the high court. In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Gonzales said a justice does not have to follow a previous ruling “if you believe it’s wrong,” a comment suggesting Mr. Roberts would not be bound by his past statement that the 1973 decision settled the issue.

On other subjects in a wide-ranging interview with AP editors and reporters, Mr. Gonzales:

* Declined to answer questions about his decision with White House counsel to delay notifying most White House staff about a Justice Department investigation into the leak of a covert CIA officer’s identity.

* Defended indefinite detention of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as “absolutely the right decision” in the war against terrorism.

* Said the administration opposes federal legislation to shield reporters from having to reveal confidential sources, but also said the government has been “very very careful,” issuing only a dozen subpoenas since 1991 seeking reporters’ confidential sources.

– Associated Press

SENATE VOTES TO LET BOY SCOUTS CONTINUE USE OF MILITARY BASES

The Senate voted yesterday to allow U.S. military bases to continue to host Boy Scout events, responding to lawsuits and a federal court ruling aimed at severing relationships between the government and the youth group.

The vote came one day after four adult Scout leaders were killed on the opening day of the National Scout Jamboree at the Army’s Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, Va., when a tent pole apparently struck a power line.

In a 98-0 vote, the Senate approved the provision continuing the hosting of Boy Scout events as part of a massive bill setting Defense Department policy for next year. After the vote, Senate leaders decided to put off further debate and votes on the overall bill, probably until fall when Congress returns from a month long break. Senate Majority Leader Frist, a Republican of Tennessee and a former Boy Scout who sponsored the Senate provision, said it is necessary to push back on a spate of lawsuits to limit Boy Scout activities on government property. The provision adopted yesterday says Boy Scouts should be treated the same as other national youth organizations.

– Associated Press

MID-ATLANTIC

WITNESS TESTIFIES THAT ABU GHRAIB PRISONERS WERE BITTEN BY DOGS

Two Iraqis at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison were bitten by dogs as they were being handled by sergeants who were competing to see who could scare more detainees, a witness testified yesterday. Private Ivan Frederick II – himself convicted of abusing inmates at the military prison – testified by phone in the Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, for Sergeants Santos Cardona and Michael Smith. The Army had announced the hearing on Monday. A dog handled by Sergeant Cardona bit a detainee on both thighs, severely enough to require stitches, Private Frederick said. A dog handled by Sergeant Smith bit an inmate on one of his wrists, but not hard enough to the break the skin, he said. Private Frederick also said he heard both defendants say they were competing, using their dogs, to see how many detainees they could frighten into urinating on themselves. He is serving an eight-year sentence at a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., after pleading guilty to conspiracy, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, assault, and committing an indecent act.

– Associated Press