Dep Asst SecDef for detainee affairs: boycott lawfirms helping detainees

[JP]

Charles Stimson is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs at the Pentagon.

In a radio interview over the weekend he brought up, reportedly right out of the blue and not as a response to any query, that a right-wing journalist had made a FOIA request for the names of the law firms providing legal assistance to Guantanamo detainees, he read off some of these firms' names, and made (so it is claimed) the suggestion that these firms be boycotted:

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/13/pentagon.detainees.ap/
"And I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms," Stimson said.

It gets better, he then accused the firms of taking money from suspicious sources:Asked who might be paying the law firms to represent Guantanamo detainees, Stimson hinted at wrongdoing.

"It's not clear, is it? Some will maintain that they're doing it out of the goodness of their heart -- that they're doing it pro bono, and I suspect they are," he said. "Others are receiving monies from who knows where and I'd be curious to have them explain that."

The Pentagon quickly issued a statement saying that Stimson's comments "do not represent the views of the Department of Defense or the thinking of its leadership".

But this isn't some random mid-level apparatchik, this is the guy at the Pentagon in charge of detainee affairs.

[trojanrabbit]

Why are we still calling it the "Department of Defense"?

Gates real title should be either "Secretary of Offense" or "Secretary of War"

Actually, I wouldn't mind if there was an investigation to see if any hanky-panky was going on, just as long as there was an equally thorough investigation into whatever hijinks our defense contractors are up to.

[pseudonym]

Asked who might be paying the law firms to represent Guantanamo detainees, Stimson hinted at wrongdoing.

"It's not clear, is it? Some will maintain that they're doing it out of the goodness of their heart -- that they're doing it pro bono, and I suspect they are," he said. "Others are receiving monies from who knows where and I'd be curious to have them explain that."


"Receiving monies form who knows where?" Um, shouldn't he know where if he's in charge of thing at the Pentagon? It's no secret that these kind of financial transactions are, well, no secret these days.

Unless, of course, he's pulling all this out of his ass, in which case he should just shut the hell up. :)

[trojanrabbit]

"Receiving monies form who knows where?" Um, shouldn't he know where if he's in charge of thing at the Pentagon? It's no secret that these kind of financial transactions are, well, no secret these days.

Unless, of course, he's pulling all this out of his ass, in which case he should just shut the hell up. :)

Well, if Condi can't tell us what the expected number of casualties is going to be because of the surge, I don't expect the Pentagon to be able to give us any other information, either.

[Fleegle]

Good Lord! Has anybody in the Bush Administration even read The Constitution? That's an incredibly insane statement to make.

[JP]

Stimson has now apologized:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/16/AR2007011601442.html
A Pentagon official who criticized large U.S. law firms for representing terrorism suspects at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has apologized for his comments, saying that his discussion on a local radio program does not reflect his "core beliefs."

Charles D. "Cully" Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said yesterday that he regrets what he told Federal News Radio on Thursday, when he suggested that chief executives of U.S. companies should question being represented by lawyers who do pro bono work for terrorism suspects. The Washington Post editorial page reported Stimson's comments Friday.

In a letter to the editor that appears today on The Post's editorial page, Stimson said he believes that both sides of a legal case should have "competent legal counsel." Stimson is a former prosecutor and defense lawyer.

"Regrettably, my comments left the impression that I question the integrity of those engaged in the zealous defense of detainees in Guantanamo," Stimson wrote. "I do not."
I haven't found an online link for Stimson's letter to the editor yet, I'm curious to see how he explains his "others are receiving monies from who knows where and I'd be curious to have them explain that" remark that supposedly was never meant to be an attack on their integrity.

edit: found it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/16/AR2007011601383.html

[smak]

He so didn't believe what he was saying that he had a list of a dozen law firms ready to be called out. Sounds like he prepared quite a bit to say all those things he really doesn't believe.

I'd think he was trying to save his job now, but the Bush administration doesn't fire anybody for anything, so he's safe.

-smak-