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Politics

Gitmo case rush led to top lawyer's resignation

By Washington Post
Published October 21, 2007

WASHINGTON - Politically motivated officials at the Pentagon have pushed for convictions of high-profile detainees ahead of the 2008 elections, the former lead prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba said Friday night, adding that the pressure played a part in his decision to resign this month.

Senior defense officials discussed in a September 2006 meeting the "strategic political value" of putting some prominent detainees on trial, said Air Force Col. Morris Davis. He said that he felt pressure to pursue cases that were deemed "sexy" over those that prosecutors believed were the most solid or were ready to go.

Davis said his resignation was also prompted by newly appointed senior officials seeking to use classified evidence in what would be closed sessions of court. And almost all elements of the military commissions process are being put under the Defense Department general counsel's command, something he believes could present serious conflicts.

"There was a big concern that the election of 2008 is coming up," Davis said. "People wanted to get the cases going. There was a rush to get high-interest cases into court at the expense of openness."

Davis said he thought the military commissions could go forward as a legitimate way to try terror suspects in U.S. custody, but he said he had serious concerns about how the new officials were approaching the commissions. He said he felt that a sense of expediency was taking hold and that efforts to use classified evidence - a controversial idea that has drawn congressional concern - could taint the trials in the eyes of international observers.

Davis abruptly resigned after complaining that his authority in prosecutions was being usurped. He argued that Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, a new legal adviser to the convening authority for military commissions, should remain a neutral and independent party and should leave prosecuting cases to prosecutors.

In his complaint, Davis alleged that Hartmann inappropriately requested detailed information on pending cases, defined the sequence in which cases would be brought forward and expressed an intent to conduct pretrial negotiations personally.

A Pentagon review found that Hartmann did not attempt to coerce Davis' team but advised that he should "diligently avoid aligning himself with the prosecutorial function so that he can objectively and independently provide cogent legal advice" to the convening authority - the official in charge of supervising the commissions.

Pentagon spokesman J.D. Gordon said Friday that Hartmann was not available for comment. Gordon said the military commissions will provide detainees with fair trials. "We are working closely with our interagency counterparts to ensure that prosecutions by military commission result in fair and open trials while at the same time protecting sensitive information that, if revealed, could be damaging to U.S. and allied forces still conducting combat operations against al-Qaida and their supporters."

[Last modified October 21, 2007, 01:38:35]