If the president tells federal workers to illegally imprison me and hands them all presidential pardons, they're all safe from prosecution but in theory maybe a judge can get me out eventually. Somehow. If I can even talk to a lawyer.
But if the president instead tells federal workers to kill me...
When I was in law school, my conlaw prof told us this was the obvious implication of giving Gitmo detainees (some) due process but also not holding the Bush admin guys accountable. It led directly to the drone strike regime since that conveniently took care of anyone who might assert their rights.
I still remember in the weeks after 9/11 the US bombed some people in Somalia, reportedly way out isolated on a road far from anywhere. It was the first time I'd heard of random people out in the world being targeted for airstrike, in a situation where one could imagine helicoptering in troops.
Obviously it wasn't the first airstrike I'd ever heard of, not even an anti-terrorism airstrike (maybe the missile strikes after the USS Cole bombing?), but it was the first indication that bombs would be seen as a substitute for handcuffs, based on uncertain identification. Long before Gitmo.
