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Judge Purges General From Gitmo Case

Posted May 10, 08 12:10 PM CDT in US 

(Newser) – A military judge has expelled a Pentagon general from the case of a Guantanamo detainee in a move that could open the military tribunal system to further attacks. The judge said the general—who is supposed to be impartial as overseer of the Gitmo legal process—worked too closely with the prosecution, fueling critics’ argument that the system is designed to score convictions, the New York Times reports. 

The former chief Gitmo prosecutor had accused the general of, among other things, pushing to use evidence gained through torture. While the judge’s decision applied to just the trial of Osama bin Laden’s former driver, the role of Gen. Thomas Hartmann will likely be questioned in others, potentially slowing the death-penalty trials of 9/11 detainees, the Wall Street Journal notes.

Sources New York Times, Wall Street Journal

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Col. Morris Davis, chief prosecutor, speaks to reporters after the first hearing of the U.S. Court of Military Commission review in Washington, Friday, Aug. 24, 2007.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, the legal adviser to the military tribunal system, left, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Guantanamo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan is seen in this undated file photo. A Pentagon overseer has been dropped from his case over questions of neutrality.   (AP Photo/Photo courtesy of Prof. Neal Katya)
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Bush administration • Pentagon • Guantanamo Bay • September 11 • Guantanamo prisoners • Defense Department • Morris Davis • military commissions


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