George W. Bush has ignited a firestorm of criticism for signing the executive order authorizing secret military tribunals to try, convict, and even execute accused “terrorists.”

Outrage has come from a wide political spectrum that reaches all the way from arch-conservatives like Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) to Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.), the only senator to vote against Attorney General John Ashcroft’s “anti-terrorism” bill packed with assaults on civil liberties.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) released a letter to Bush Nov. 27, signed by 38 other House members, stating, “We oppose the creation of military tribunals, which would permit secret arrests, secret charges using secret evidence, secret prosecutions, secret witnesses, secret trials, secret convictions, secret sentencing and even secret executions.”

Kucinich warned that he will attach an amendment to a Pentagon spending bill, prohibiting use of any federal funds to finance military trials of accused terrorists.

The Senate Judiciary Committee convened hearings on the executive order Nov. 28, sharply criticizing Bush and Ashcroft for failing to even consult Congress on their “anti-terrorism” moves. Ashcroft declined to appear.

Instead, Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff attempted to soothe the senators, praising them for their “partnership” in the “war on terrorism.” Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) interrupted. “How can you talk about partnership when nobody informed us that this Executive Order was coming down?”

Bush’s Executive Order would require only a two-thirds majority to impose the death penalty instead of a unanimous vote as in civilian trials. It also abrogates rules of evidence aimed at protecting the rights of the accused. The measure’s broad powers of detention without a writ of habeas corpus “went into effect without any comment, period” as required by federal law, Specter said.

Chertoff claimed that all the rights of the accused, including the right of legal counsel will be protected under the Bush scheme. “I’d like to see where in the Executive Order there is the right to counsel,” Specter retorted.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) recalled previous cases in which civil liberties were abridged, including the Palmer Raids after World War I and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

He pointed out that the U.S. State Department has sharply condemned military tribunals set up by other countries for failing to meet international standards on due process. “Aren’t we doing exactly what we criticized other nations for doing?”

Feingold debunked assurances by Bush and Ashcroft that the 1,100 people detained since Sept. 11, at least 640 of them still in custody, were guaranteed their civil liberties.

“How can we determine if they have counsel, whether they are being held incommunicado, if there names aren’t even disclosed?” Feingold demanded.

“By failing to articulate who is being held and why, the families, friends and neighbors are left to fear only the worst. It tarnishes the reputation of the Justice Department.”

The administration is facing such a backlash on the issue that Ashcroft agreed to appear before the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, chaired by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dec. 4.