From Roger Fitch and our Friends down under at Justinian

The President's right to kill Americans

ROGER FITCH ESQ • TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

Clients at the Bay ... Everyone's getting tired of "targeted killings" by the "serial assassin" ... Brits pay compo to resident mistreated at Gitmo ... How to make cases go away ... DoJ drops Goldman Sachs prosecution ... Huge public disapproval of Congress ... Roger Fitch reports from Washington 

THE Pentagon wants to curtail Guantánamo counsel's access to their clients once they lose DC habeas cases.

See also and here. 

Lawyers are likely to learn new things, and it's inconvenient when they put to use what they learn. 

The government still claims every word a detainee utters is a secret, presumptively classified from the moment spoken.

It's a contention presently being contested by the ACLU in Guantánamo's "9/11" trial. 

The Pentagon worries that talk about rendition and torture, sorry, "detention and treatment," could cause "exceptionally grave damage".

Quite so: to the government and its staged military prosecutions. 

To be on the safe side, the Obama administration now claims the bare right to counselexpires after habeas cases are adjudicated. 

The New York Times called the action unconstitutional, and a disapproving op-ed appeared in the Washington Post.

DC Chief Judge Royce Lamberth heard the matter and seemed unpersuaded by the government's arguments.

All of the lawyers have security clearances (so do 4.8 million others in the US), so what's the problem?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST.... 

NOT WITH A BANG BUT A WHIMPER....

The justice department has now officially closed the investigation into the treatment of detainees by the CIA.
Emptywheel has more here.

SOME OF THE THINGS GOING ON...

Although our constitution has suffered severe damage from Guantanamo it seems that the base withstood Issac with little damage. Despite the small amount of damage it was enough for the military to punt once again in regards to its kangaroo military commission hearings...now things are put off until October while the government/military decides if the hearings can be seen but not heard.
Meanwhile- our lovely neighbor to the North-with its Bush wannabe prime minister- continues to refuse to take home its young son from Guantanamo who has been held in violation of international law since he was 15.
Judge Lamberth still has not ruled on whether the proposed new restrictions on lawyer visits to Guantanamo can go into effect-these new restrictions would leave it totally up to the military to decide when and for how long attorneys whose clients no longer have a habeas petition pending can visit their clients. Some accounts suggest that the judge was skeptical of the military's new proposed restrictions at the oral argument- but I don't think our military government has anything to fear with Judge Lamberth- he hasn't seen an argument from the government in regards to Guantanamo that he hasn't liked- and of course he even sunk so low as to engage in ex-parte discussions with government attorneys (in my own clients case....). Needless to say I am not holding my breath on this one.
I have been spending my spare time working on the appellate brief for my client Razak Ali- the appellate court in DC that hears all of the Guantanamo cases has not seen a Guantanamo detainee that it thinks should be set free so I do not hold out great hope- but I will do my best. My client lost his Habeas case more than a year and a half ago but it took the judge about 15 months to deny one of the post trial motions that I filed. That was understandable because everyone knows that it takes a long time to say "motion denied" which is really all he said.  Anyway, now I am working on Razak's appeal and unfortunately my client will just have to take my word for  it when I tell him I am doing my best-as the courts- yes all the way up to the Supreme Court have refused my request to provide an unclassified version of his Petition and the Government's response, so that my client could provide meaningful assistance in his appeal and understand exactly what the issues are- all of the courts have refused to allow him to participate in his appeal (and of course he was allowed not to provide assistance at his hearing either- unless you think listening in to the unclassified version of the opening statement in meaningful or assistance) ...confirming once again that habeas is truly dead.

A little break from the usual...

RIP Neil Armstrong....you helped many of us dream great dreams ......h/o/t Hullabaloo

Adventures at Gitmo

I hope to get caught up on all things Gitmo during this coming week. Meanwhile here is an update on the conditions for the attorneys for the men at Gitmo and the forever decreasing number of hours we can spend with our clients after making the long journey. This shrinking schedule will definitely impact my ability to prepare -with my client- his appeal.

David Remes’ Latest GTMO Adventures

I returned from GTMO on Thursday, unexpectedly soon. I had flown down on Monday for an extended visit, but the visit was cut short when I and others were evacuated in the face of the threat from Tropical Storm Isaac.

A surreal flight back

We boarded a chartered commercial jetliner, bound for Andrews AFB, which is how the military ferries habeas lawyers and individuals associated with military commission cases to and from the base. On board were members of families of 9/11 victims, military commission judges and officials, commission prosecutors and defense counsel, translators, and, at the very rear, NGO observers and the media, and me. Aptly, all involved in this sad drama, except the detainees themselves, were bound together in this self-contained reality.

Before the cabin door was closed, crew members came down the aisle and told those of us in the last 34 rows (the media, observers, and me) to relocate to empty seats further up, to make room for a contingent of prisoners. We were incredulous, but we had heard this from the crew, and we anticipated a spectacle. Journalists began twittering and unpacking recording devices. I planted myself in row 33, expecting to see some of my clients. After about 15 minutes, crew members returned to tell us that it was all a misunderstanding and we could return to our original seats. 

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Click here to continue.....

MY MY

I have been a bit busy so I havent posted on all of the things going on- I will try to get to that later this week....but I could not let this pass without comment.
As I mentioned in earlier blogs the government (Obama administration) is trying once again to keep the lawyers out of Guantanamo-placing new restrictions on attorney visits. There are several judges hearing Guantanamo cases and lawyers for detainees have asked their individual judges to shut down the government's most recent attempts. As Lyle Denniston at ScotUS blog pointed out over the weekend the Government has now asked that one judge hear all of these challenges- and of course who do they pick? Judge Lamberth- the judge that announced at a public conference that he would be afraid to grant the habeas petition for any man at Guantanamo because that individual could be the one to blow up the capitol...When I moved to recuse Judge Lamberth in my clients case because of his clear bias- the government admitted that they had an ex parte conversation with the judge about discovery matters in my case.....after sitting on my motion for literally months he finally agreed to recuse himself. How appropriate that the government turns to its friend Lamberth in this matter too- but how shocking that at least some of the other judges appear willing to turn over their own cases to Lamberth to decide this important matter.

Mr. Transparency UPDATED

As everyone knows Obama could not quite get around to closing Guantanamo....but did you know that his department of "justice" is now working to try to keep the attorneys out of Guantanamo? In his latest moves the government is refusing to let attorneys whose clients lost their habeas cases visit their clients...once all appeals are concluded. Apparently Obama thinks these men should not be allowed any further legal representation and that it would be just fine to let these men go back into the dark hole known as Guantanamo....The government is asking that the military be given the sole right to decide when OR IF a detainee needs further legal help and that the attorneys not be allowed to use any of the information they obtained from their clients over the years.... to help their clients in the future.

Lyle Denniston at ScotUS has more on this latest move by Obama's people....

For Those of You in the DC Area

July 11, 2012, New York, NY. -- Federal Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will hear oral arguments on Monday, July 16,  in litigation brought by the International Justice Network (IJN) and co-counsel on behalf of three non-Afghan citizens whom the U.S. government forcibly rendered to Afghanistan nearly ten years ago, for indefinite imprisonment at Bagram Air Base.  At issue in the case is whether the U.S. government can continue to use Bagram as the “other Guantánamo” to indefinitely detain prisoners in U.S. custody without access to legal counsel or courts Despite being cleared for release by a U.S. military “Detainee Review Board,” all three men continue to languish at Bagram.  

In 2009, the cases were consolidated before Judge Bates, who found that each man had the right to challenge his detention in U.S. courts.  However, the Obama administration appealed the decision to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals --which overturned Judge Bates’ ruling in 2010.  

Now the case is back before Judge Bates on the basis of new evidence that was not yet on the record when the Court of Appeals issued its ruling.  

The oral arguments in Al Maqaleh are open to the public and will take place on Monday, July 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 14 of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Drugging of detainess...

Jason Leopold and Jeffery Kaye are out with a new report today. This one on the use of mind altering drugs on detainees while they were being interrogated. "Detainees in custody of the US military were interrogated while drugged with powerful antipsychotic and other medications that "could impair an individual's ability to provide accurate information," according to a declassified Department of Defense (DoD) inspector general's report that probed the alleged use of "mind altering drugs" during interrogations."


This is of course disturbing on so many levels but to put it in perspective just remember that the DC Court of Appeals- the one that hears all of the appeals for Gitmo detainees - has said that it presumes that everything the detainees are alleged to have said is true and accurate and the burden is on the detainee to prove otherwise...couple that with the fact that it is virtually impossible to get the medical records of our clients....

Civil Liberties Still alive in Europe

A committee of the European Parliament has released its report on the secret CIA prisons in Europe and is recommending that all European member countries do an examination of their role in the renditions and secret prisons. Read more here. This will go to a full vote of the European Parliament in September....once it passes it will no longer be a recommendation but will be an Order....

Mr. Transparency....

As everyone knows Obama could not quite get around to closing Guantanamo....but did you know that his department of "justice" is now working to try to keep the attorneys out of Guantanamo? In his latest moves the government is refusing to let attorneys whose clients lost their habeas cases visit their clients...once all appeals are concluded. Apparently Obama thinks these men should not be allowed any further legal representation and that it would be just fine to let these men go back into the darkness of Guantanamo....The government is asking that they be given the sole right to decide when OR IF a detainee needs further legal help and that the attorneys not be allowed to use any of the information they obtained from their clients to help their clients.

Rumors...

There are also rumors today that the Tunisians may be heading home. A delegation from Tunisia went to the base last week-most likely to meet with the remaining Tunisians-and they are hoping that the US will announce that their countrymen can go back home.

Sudanese detainee released....

It was announced today that a sudanese detainee that is one of the first detainees to have landed at Gitmo has now been released. He is accused of being a foot soldier for bin Laden and he pled guilty in the military commission two years ago. Carol Rosenberg has more here.

Today, 168 detainees remain at the detention center in Guantanamo Bay.

No legal process for the Gitmo men....

Steve Wax represented a man held at Guantanamo until 2007. His client's case was one of the seven that the supreme court decided not to hear last month. Read more about his client here.
And if you have not read Steve's book "Kafka comes to america" Read it now.

ACLU Torture Database

Somehow I missed this but the ACLU set up a database on the torture files and other torture information at the end of June (on International recognition of torture victims day). you can link to it here.
A couple of interesting new documents relate to the torture of Abu Z.- the man we waterboarded almost 100 times only to figure out that he wasn't the bad ass we thought he was. This one describes the various torture techniques that were being utilized and also describes how during his last waterboarding CIA officials flew in to watch it to help determine whether he had been tortured enough....
Then there is the 2004 CIA inspector general's report....
and finally the report that outlines the combined torture techniques that can be used.