The founders of our country fought to create a nation "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." The colonists had vivid memories of the absolute rulers of Europe, who stood above the law, and who could confiscate property and imprison, deport, or execute any individual at will. With this in mind, they wrote a Constitution designed to protect Americans from such abuses of power.

The 4th Amendment to the Constitution defines the right of all Americans to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures..."

Article One, Section Nine of the Constitution guarantees the right of habeas corpus-which says that people cannot be detained indefinitely without due process of law. Thomas Jefferson called habeas corpus one of the "essential principles of our government."

New Hampshire has always understood the value of our basic freedoms.  I've taken that spirit with me to Washington, where it is needed now as much as it was two hundred years ago.

In recent years, our President has claimed that there are limits to habeas corpus. He has claimed the right to declare Americans "enemy combatants" and to imprison Americans indefinitely, without charges or legal representation (as in the Padilla case). He has also asserted the right to conduct wiretaps of Americans' communications without warrants and without legal finding of fact.

I believe that these actions violate the Constitution itself, as well as the 4th and 5th Amendments. That is why I have cosponsored legislation to reaffirm Americans' fundamental rights. The Habeas Corpus Preservation Act (H.R. 1189) and the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (H.R. 2826) guarantee protection against unreasonable search and seizure and indefinite imprisonment.

Even as we fight to defend the principles of freedom abroad, we must also continue to fight to protect our own liberties here at home.