Dep. Asst. SECDEF Cully Stimson Says Boycott Law Firms That Represent Guantanamo Detainees

[arnisador]

US defense official shocked by law firms defending Guantanamo detainees

Cully Stimson, a lawyer and the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, had this to say recently:

"The major law firms in the country ... are out there representing detainees," Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said in a Federal News Radio interview Thursday, available online.


"And you know what, it's shocking," he said.


"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."

I hope to wake up in the morning to find that this man has been fired. I was distressed by much weaker comments along similar lines by Mike Nifong of the Duke sexual assault case. But to suggest that lawyers who are defending the accused are un-American and should be boycotted...this man isn't fit to work in the U.S. government. He doesn't understand what he's defending.

Here's a NY TImes editorial on the matter:

It does not seem to matter to Mr. Stimson, who is a lawyer, that a great many of those detainees did not deserve imprisonment, let alone the indefinite detention to which they are subjected as “illegal enemy combatants.” And forget about the fundamental American right that everyone should have legal counsel, even the most heinous villain.

 

[jazkiljok]

US defense official shocked by law firms defending Guantanamo detainees

Cully Stimson, a lawyer and the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, had this to say recently:



I hope to wake up in the morning to find that this man has been fired. I was distressed by much weaker comments along similar lines by Mike Nifong of the Duke sexual assault case. But to suggest that lawyers who are defending the accused are un-American and should be boycotted...this man isn't fit to work in the U.S. government. He doesn't understand what he's defending.

Here's a NY TImes editorial on the matter:

darn tootin-- send him to north korea or the sudan where his viewpoints are in line with the leaders there.

one wonders what school this guy went to get his degree in law...

 

[arnisador]

one wonders what school this guy went to get his degree in law...

That's what's so striking about this and the Mike Nifong situation...lawyers are suggesting that defendants don't ned lawyers if they're innocent. Hence, anyone who hires a lawyer for representation must be guilty. (Has anyone heard of the Fifth Amendment?) Of course, the prosecution/government will be represented by a lawyer...it's unreal. I just can't believe he'd say that, and am saddened by the lack of outrage.

 

[jazkiljok]

That's what's so striking about this and the Mike Nifong situation...lawyers are suggesting that defendants don't ned lawyers if they're innocent. Hence, anyone who hires a lawyer for representation must be guilty. (Has anyone heard of the Fifth Amendment?) Of course, the prosecution/government will be represented by a lawyer...it's unreal. I just can't believe he'd say that, and am saddened by the lack of outrage.

yeah, it's a real dumb world were living in-- we've got no energy for outrage, not with the stock market doing well. funny thing is, it's the lawyers out there (the guys that are so commonly pissed upon by the masses) who are raising their voices and flexing their powers to protect the masses from these morons. too bad they get little credit for it.

 

[arnisador]

He apologized (after a fashion):
Apology given for dig at lawyers

"My comments left the impression that I question the integrity of those engaged in the zealous defense of detainees in Guantanamo," Stimson said in a letter to the editor published in The Washington Post.

Stimson drew outrage from the legal community--and a disavowal from the Defense Department--after he said he found it shocking that lawyers at many of the nation's top law firms represent detainees held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba. He suggested some were being untruthful about doing the work free of charge and said companies might want to consider taking their business to other firms that do not represent suspected terrorists.

"I believe firmly that a foundational principle of our legal system is that the system works best when both sides are represented by competent legal counsel," Stimson wrote, adding that he supports pro bono work.

I am...unsatisfied by this. I was pleased to see a profusion of editorials calling for his resignation.

 

[michaeledward]

I am sorry to say that the original comments just don't surprise me from one working in the Bush administration.

Today's outrage is the announcement that the warrantless wiretapping has been moved to judicial review - finally. I suppose this has nothing, whatsoever, to do with the change of control in the Congress.

The individual infractions of Team Bush have been so overpowering for the past six years, the abdication of basic American principles don't surprise me anymore.

It is nice to see the incredible decrease in support for the current executive leadership in the country. There was a time when the posts would be seven to one in favor of the daily Bush Administration outrage. I'm glad those days are gone.

Two years, and two days to go.

Think we'll make it?

 

[Carol]

"Justice -- here we have the scales that weigh the policies that regulate civil society. And any devation from it, under any circumstances, throws human society in to chaos."

- Francis Trevelyan Miller, LL.D, Litt.D

as written in 1916 in his book America, The Land We Love

 

[tellner]

So let's see. According to this Administration you can crush a child's testicles in front of his parents to get them to talk. Anyone can be imprisoned without charge, without the right to see evidence against him and without the right to a trial at the whim of the Unitary Executive. The Courts, according to Gonzalez, are not competent to interpret the law in matters touching on national security. You can be executed on hearsay evidence or on the basis of "coerced testimony". And now they want to make sure you won't have competent counsel in their kangaroo court.

The difference between them and Stalin is what, exactly?

 

[Flying Crane]

My wife and father-in-law are both attorneys working in Criminal Defense. Given our connection to that world, we were just completely blown away by such crazy statements. It is just amazing the mean-spirited, inhumane, controlling and manipulative people who are in this administration. They are afraid that if anyone under accusation has any inkling of their legal rights, they are going to blow holes thru what is going on. Discouraging competent attorneys from representing them is a good way to smother their rights.

 

[arnisador]

I somehow missed this:

Pentagon Official Who Criticized Detainee Lawyers Quits

A senior Pentagon official resigned yesterday, the Defense Department announced, three weeks after criticizing lawyers who represent terrorism suspects.

Charles "Cully" Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, called it "shocking" that major U.S. law firms represented Guantanamo Bay detainees free of charge and said they would likely suffer financially after their corporate clients learned of the work.

Three weeks too late, but at least it's done. I wish the administration had made a stronger statement, but this is something.

 

[Empty Hands]

The difference between them and Stalin is what, exactly?

Numbers and facial hair?