Judge critical of Gitmo trials is dismissed.
By on May 31st, 2008 at 11:42 am
Judge critical of Gitmo trials is dismissed.
Army Col. Peter Brownback III, a judge who was hearing a war crimes case at Guantanamo Bay and “publicly expressed frustration with military prosecutors’ refusal to give evidence to the defense,” has been dismissed. Brownback had threatened to suspend the proceedings against Omar Khadr “unless prosecutors handed over Khadr’s medical and interrogation records since his July 2002 capture in Afghanistan.” Pentagon prosecutors have also rushed to schedule high-profile detainee trials during the height of the presidential campaign season.
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Imagine that! I bet this order came ALL the way from the top! Right from Dicator Bushes desk I bet!
JJ
May 31st, 2008 at 11:44 amUltimate-Anonymity
Gitmo must be closed. And if there are any real terrorist suspects being held there, they should be tried in a real court of law with the full rules of evidence being observed.
It’s time for this country to return to its ideals and start acting like the open democracy that our fore fathers bequeathed us.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
May 31st, 2008 at 11:51 amSo in these military courtrooms, if the judge isn’t ruling your way…you just get him dismissed!
Aren’t we all proud of America!
May 31st, 2008 at 11:55 amI am disgusted this is being perpetrated in our name. IMPEACH NOW!!!
May 31st, 2008 at 11:57 amWhat a new concept! When the judge asks for evidence in a trial, he gets fired! Truth? Evidence? Whoever heard of such outrageous requests in a courtroom?!
May 31st, 2008 at 11:59 amI hope we live long enough to see Bush&Co all stand as defendants in a courtroom.
At least he wasn’t “found hanging from apparent suicide,” too….
May 31st, 2008 at 12:03 pmdismissed without explanation. pitiful.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:03 pmWith Liberty and Justice for all**
**Offer not available in all areas, prices subject to change without notice.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:06 pmhanshiro Says:
At least he wasn’t “found hanging from apparent suicide,” too….
YET
May 31st, 2008 at 12:08 pmAnd the fix is in.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:08 pmBanana Republicans, still at it.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:09 pmCancer never sleeps.
Looks like the Bush administration is applying the same policy to the military tribunal judges that they have been to the Gulf War II generals and various White House personnel…if the current personnel are not giving you the answers that you want, fire them and replace them with someone who’ll give you the answers you do want.
Sur-prise, sur-prise…NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 31st, 2008 at 12:10 pmHow can anyone even pretend that this is a “fair” hearing when the prosecution controls the judges?
May 31st, 2008 at 12:13 pmMemo to Soon to Be Lt Col Brownback:
Check your vehicle underside and engine compartment for concealed explosives prior to engaging ignition.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:13 pmProtocol in force, duration: forseeable future.
That is all.
Next time I get a ticket, can I just fire the judge if he asks the prosecution for evidence?
May 31st, 2008 at 12:14 pmIf you can’t change the rules…
May 31st, 2008 at 12:18 pmchange the referee.
One of the many tragic results of the Cheney regime will be a military pruned of vertebrates; the only high-ranking officers left will be sycophantic jellyfish, the rest will have learned by observation.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:18 pmWhat frustrates the hell out of me is this: All these military lawyers are licensed by the states or the District of Columbia; the military doesn’t license them. So why in God’s name are the state licensing authorities sitting back and letting these guys get away with clear cut violations of their code of ethics? If any private lawyer (or any government lawyer outside the military, for that matter) engaged in these kinds of games — in the public eye, mind you — they would be crucified.
Ever heard of Michael Nifong?
May 31st, 2008 at 12:38 pmBecause “the evidence” has been obtained illegally and would not survive the light of day. Better to hold “suspects” until they go crazy and then release them.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:40 pmRoger … I’m not familiar with Khadr’s case, but killing a soldier during a war isn’t a war crime. If that were the case, all POW’s (regardless of their “status”) would be subject to being tried for war crimes and executed … including our own. Do we really want to set that precedent?
Perhaps there’s more to the case than that. But on the battlefield, the enemy, however despicable he may be, is allowed to fight back.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:42 pmYou could not get away with this kind of conduct under the military courts martial system. Ultimately, appeals can be taken to the Court of Military Appeals. Indeed, having worked both the military and civilian criminal systems, I can testify that there is a high degree of professionalism and fairness when the crimes involve serious criminal acts. Indeed, most JAG’s have great dedication to the law and are quite willing to put their careers on the line to defend their clients.
What is amazing in this case, is a military prosecutor and judge turning on the system of military tribunals. JAG’s are dedicated but they are not liberal, ACLU, lefty attorneys. These disclosures and rulings would not be coming out unless there were extremely serious breaches of justice.
The President and his henchmen need to be stopped. This is but one more instance.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:47 pmApparently it is not a HIGH CRIME OR MISDEMEANOR to use our military for political gain.
Internationally, it can only be seen that these alleged terrorists are nothing but political prisoners of George Bush. Not only that, but Congress’s refusal to impeach gives a stamp of approval from the people.
Why can’t they see the evidence against them? Because Bush and Congress said they can’t. Evidence gathered through the use of torture can be used to convict and execute a defendant. The defendant will never get to see that evidence, never get to know how it was obtained, and never be able to challenge the evidence on appeal. This has all the hallmarks of a kangaroo court.
Once again, the official position of our government is that it can use military force to pick up any person (including U.S. Citizens) any place, any time, and hold them for the duration of this undeclared “war on terror.” Our government can use secret evidence elicited by torture to convict and execute anyone, including a U.S. citizen.
If you think being a citizen keeps you safe from your government, think again. Ask Jose Padilla. Or better yet, ask yourself. What is to prevent this government to introduce secret evidence against you showing you had renounced your citizenship making you an unlawful alien enemy combatant subject to the Military Commissions Act of 2006? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:51 pmrogers … people can be persuaded to admit to anything whatsoever, given the appropriate stimuli.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:54 pmWell, that’s just f’ing great. Let us not hide our disdain and disregard for law and justice. Our so-called democracy is a sham.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:03 pmIf Canada would seek extradiction of Omar this would end the show trial that would take place. It is terrible the even with the insistent solicitation of Amnesty International the Prime Minister is doing nothing. Even though 67% of the Canadian people do not believe he will get a fair trial.
All because he doesn’t have an ordinary name like Jones or Smith, his attorney believes, less than half the Canadians think that he should be extradicted by Canadian Officials. Justice is suppose to be blind so that citizens receive a fair trial; but it can’t be blind to the fact that his rights are being violated and he will not receive a fair and just hearing.
If this is how he will be treated I would rather the Canadian Authorities handled the matter. At least he would have a better chance at a fair trial.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:09 pmrogers, where’s your “well documented” evidence?
This is a 15 year-old Canadian who was swept up following a fire-fight and imprisoned for over 6 years.
If not for the accidental release of documents, we might still believe he actually threw the grenade. But he was, and is, scheduled to be convicted and quite possibly executed based on secret evidence.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pmLike any true Dictatorship a person is removed that goes against the orders of the Dictator. We watched Pakistan remove Judges per their Dictator and even the Saudi King removes anyone who doesn’t follow his orders. Bush/Cheney are running the USA the same way. Even the current Attorney General knows his place and must get orders from the Vice President. The USA has a puppet President with a VP who runs the country. Even Pelosi knows here place and how to follow orders of the White House. With a clear case of many Impeachment crimes Pelosi says we should pray for George W. Bush. Now she could have said that without being Speaker of the House, but she was given her orders when she won the seat.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:19 pmGiven the clear political motivation for the trial timing (”why wait over six years”?), what sort of recourse do we (i.e., anyone outside of the White House, and possibly the GOP) have to prevent this flagrant politicization?
In other words, do either Pelosi or Reid (or anyone else) have any levers by which they can provide sufficient “disincentive” for this administration (or this administration’s Pentagon staff) to knock this crap off?
It’s sooo banana republic. I’m increasingly ashamed to talk to my non-American friends, knowing that I’ll be asked to justify such immature and immoral behavior on the part of our leadership.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pmThe Penatagon seems to be pretty open about running propaganda operations aimed at American citizens. Show trials timed for the Presidential elections are another depressing moral low for America.
May 31st, 2008 at 2:03 pmrogers Says:
————————————————————-
If he didn’t throw that grenade, he definetly knows who did.
—
May 31st, 2008 at 2:42 pmWas it Jessica Lynch? Oh yeah that story was made up.
I find this much more troubling – from DemocracyNow:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/19/clive_stafford_smith
May 31st, 2008 at 2:46 pmOoops…2nd blockquote didn’t copy right.
Who’s Smith?
May 31st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
This is as clear a case of over trowing the rule of law as we will get.
FIRING A JUDGE BECAUSE HE WON’T RUN A KANGAROO COURT!!!
This is the case to raise a stink about… it is the Attorney firings x10…. They are now firing JUDGES because they won’t do the parties dirty work.
THE PROFILE OF THIS EVENT MUST BE RAISED!!!
May 31st, 2008 at 3:06 pmCol. Brownback joins Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, who had the audacity to fight for his Gitmo client’s habeas corpus rights, won, and will be forced to retire from the Navy, and Lt. Cmdr. Matt Diaz, who leaked the names of the detainees to protest their treatment, was subsequently court-martialed, sentenced to six months, and dismissed from the service.
It is so ironic to consider that military officers, trained to obey, are in the vanguard of defending the Bill of Rights–then again, it might just be a reflection of how heinous are the crimes of the Bush administration.
I am so pround of these fine men.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:45 pmWe need these Kangaroo Kourt Kase Konvictions in time for McKane to proudly stand with Bush and proclaim another VICTORY over the forces of evil and make note if the People vote for a Democrat, the heathen raghead sandal flapping robe wearers will cut our heads off and rape our white women with uncircumcised dicks . . .
May 31st, 2008 at 6:37 pm.
R E M E M B E R:
THEY(sic) have to have a conviction!
.
May 31st, 2008 at 7:29 pmIN support of JMOHR’s comment, is there any question that the military careers of the judge and attorney
May 31st, 2008 at 11:43 pmare toast ?
> The thing is, with khadr, he admitted to throwing the >grenade and killing the soldiar, so what is he hoping >for?.What is his defense?.
Wow, you really are dense, arent you?
A) You think people never confess to anything they didnt do? This is an totally unknown and non-existent phenomena.
B) Even if he did, you can’t charge someone with a criminal act for fighting on a battlefield. Well..people like BUSH can, but this isnt recognized as any sort of legitimate charge, and I beleive (not certain) that criminalizing legitimate fighting on the battlefield is prohibited by some international treaties . He wasnt wearing a uniform you say? Well, neither do our special forces soldiers, do you think if they kill an enemy on the battlefield, they should be executed if the enemy catches them?
>If he didn’t throw that grenade, he definetly knows who did.
Ok, you’re arguing that mere KNOWLEDGE of an act is a criminal offense. AMerican jurisprudence completely and totally rejects this notion, of course, but since you seem completely ignorant of the subject, i’m not surprised..
June 1st, 2008 at 1:41 amCan you say Kangaroo Court and Banana Republic?
Welcome to the New America.
Heckuva job, Dubya!
June 1st, 2008 at 4:27 am911=Inside Job
These Gitmo guys are patsies – Not nice guys for sure – but patsies none the less.
I heard that a couple of them Gitmo guys confessed to Killing JFK. Torture will do that.
Of course confessions obtained thru torture should be not be admissible, but not with this kangaroo court.
The reason they can not have trials by jury according to the U.S. Constitution is that the prosecutor would have absolutely no case.
911=Inside job
Silly fascists and their silly system of justice.
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm