McCain, Lieberman Attempt to Ban Civilian Trials for 'Enemy Combatants'

The Senate Armed Services Committee's ranking Republican Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, talks with committee member Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 4, 2010. (AP)

Two senators from opposite sides of the political aisle are set to unveil sweeping legislation that will prevent "enemy combatants" from being Mirandized, Fox News has learned.

The legislation by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., would result in banning all civilian trials for terror suspects who have been classified as enemy combatants and forcing their cases into military commissions.

The bill lays out "comprehensive policy for the detention, interrogation and trial of suspected unprivileged enemy belligerents who are believed to have engaged in hostilities against the United States by requiring these individuals to be held in military custody, interrogated for their intelligence value and not provided with a Miranda warning," according to a release from McCain's office.

"Unprivileged enemy belligerents considered to be a 'high-value detainee'" would be required "to be held in military custody and interrogated for their intelligence value by a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Team established by the President," the release states.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., expressed reservations about the bill, saying he "understands what John and Joe are trying to do." But the former military lawyer added, "I just don't feel comfortable with it. There is a role for the civilian courts to play."

A senior Senate Republican aide with knowledge of the legislation told Fox News that the legislation is not designed to have any retroactivity.

That means the bill would not affect the case of the Christmas Day bombing suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutullab.