Chief Defense Counsel
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The Chief Defense Counsel is a United States Department of Defense military position created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to supervise military and civilian defense attorneys for Guantanamo Bay detention camp prisoners in the Guantanamo military commission. [1] The Office of the Chief Defense Counsel is a component of the Office of Military Commissions.
Colonel Dwight H. Sullivan, United States Marine Corps Reserve, was Chief Defense Counsel from 2005 to 2007. The current Chief Defense Counsel is Brigadier General Jackie L. Thompson, Jr., U.S. Army.
In April 2013, Colonel Karen Mayberry, USAF, the Chief Defense Counsel at the time, ordered all attorneys under her supervision to stop using the military computer system because emails and files were made available to the prosecution. [2] On September 18, 2013, Colonel Mayberry testified about the breaches of defense computer systems in the Guantanamo military commission. [3]
Following revelations in April 2014 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating defense teams, [4] Military Judge James Pohl ordered the Chief Defense Counsel to appoint independent counsel for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and Ramzi bin al-Shibh to investigate a possible conflict of interest. [5] Later, Military Judge Pohl rescinded the order for independent counsel for Mohammad and severed bin al Shibh from the 9/11 military commission trial, citing questions of bin al Shibh's competency to stand trial and the possible conflict of interest. [6]
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Ramzi bin al-Shibh is a Yemeni citizen currently being held by the U.S. as an enemy combatant detainee at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He is accused of being a "key facilitator for the September 11 attacks" in 2001 in the United States.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-related charges. He was named as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks" in the 9/11 Commission Report.
Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi is a Sudanese militant and paymaster for al-Qaeda. Qosi was held since January 2002 in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 54.
Walid Muhammad Salih bin Mubarak bin Attash is a Yemeni prisoner held in extrajudicial detention at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp and is suspected of playing a key role in the early stages of the 9/11 attacks.
Mohammed Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani is a Saudi citizen who was detained as an al-Qaeda operative for 20 years in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba. Qahtani allegedly tried to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks as the 20th hijacker and was due to be onboard United Airlines Flight 93 along with the four other hijackers. He was refused entry due to suspicions that he was trying to illegally immigrate. He was later captured in Afghanistan in the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian citizen who was detained at Guantánamo Bay detention camp without charge from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016.
Ammar Al-Baluchi is a Pakistani citizen in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Charges against him include "facilitating the 9/11 attackers, acting as a courier for Osama bin Laden and plotting to crash a plane packed with explosives into the U.S. consulate in Karachi."
Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi is a Saudi Arabian citizen. He is alleged to have acted as a key financial facilitator for the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is a Saudi Arabian citizen alleged to be the mastermind of the bombing of USS Cole and other maritime terrorist attacks. He is alleged to have headed al-Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf states prior to his capture in November 2002 by the CIA's Special Activities Division.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, declared by the United States government to be an illegal enemy combatant and held as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to November 2008. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver and said he needed the money.
Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul is a Yemeni citizen who has been held as an enemy combatant since 2002 in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He boycotted the Guantanamo Military Commissions, arguing that there was no legal basis for the military tribunals to judge him.
Thomas W. Hartmann is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. He has 32 years of criminal, commercial and civil litigation experience. Between 1983 and 1991 he was a prosecutor and defense counsel in the Air Force, including duties as Chief Air Force Prosecutor in Asia-Pacific Region. From 1991 to 1996 he was an associate at Bryan Cave LLP and at SBC Communications. In 1996 he became senior counsel for mergers & acquisitions for SBC Communications closing multiple deals worth several billion dollars in U.S., Europe, and South America as well as negotiating a strategic partnering agreement with a global internet service provider. From 1998 onwards he was general counsel for SBC Communications (1999–2001), Orius Corp. (2001–2004) and MxEnergy Inc. (2005–2007) in domestic and international settings. In July 2007 Brigadier General Hartmann was appointed the legal adviser to the convening authority in the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions. In September 2008, as a result of the expansion of the commission efforts that General Hartmann had led, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England elevated General Hartmann to become the director of operations, planning, and development for the commissions. Hartmann reported to Susan J. Crawford, a retired judge, who was the convening authority until March 2010.
Attorney Lawrence J. Morris is the chief of staff and counselor to the president at The Catholic University of America and a retired United States Army colonel.
United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, et al. is the trial of five alleged Al-Qaeda members for aiding the September 11, 2001 attacks. Charges were announced by Brigadier General Thomas W. Hartmann on February 11, 2008 at a press conference at the Pentagon. The men charged are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ammar al-Baluchi, and Mustafa Ahmad al Hawsawi.
Ralph Harold Kohlmann is an American lawyer and retired United States Marine Corps officer.
Patrick Parrish is an officer in the United States Army.
Colonel James L. Pohl is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army.
This page lists trials related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Brian L. Mizer is a United States Navy JAG officer. He is from the State of Nebraska. He attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, for his undergraduate degree and Case Western Reserve University for his Juris Doctor.
Rear Admiral David B. Woods is an officer in the United States Navy. When Woods was a junior officer he served as a fighter pilot. When he became more senior he specialized in signals intelligence.