Karl R. Thompson | |
---|---|
Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel | |
In office March 24, 2014 –January 20, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Virginia A. Seitz |
Succeeded by | Curtis E. Gannon (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Karl Remón Thompson [1] |
Alma mater | Harvard University (BA) University of Cambridge (PhD) University of Chicago (JD) |
Profession | Lawyer |
Karl R. Thompson is an American lawyer and was the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice from 2014 until 20 January 2017;he served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General during that period.
Thompson received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in 1991,a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge in 1998,and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School with high honors in 2000.
Thompson clerked for Judge David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2002 Term. He worked in private practice at the law firm O'Melveny &Myers,specializing in international and appellate litigation. He then joined the Office of Legal Counsel as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General. He later became Deputy Assistant Attorney General and also served as Counselor to the Attorney General. In March 2014,he became Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel,serving as the acting head of the office. [2]
In late 2009 the New York Post and the Washington Times started to criticize the Obama Presidency for its employment of lawyers who had helped provide legal assistance to Guantanamo captives. [3] [4] [5] At first the New York Post and the Washington Times only named two of the nine lawyers they were reporting had "aided terrorists". But March 2010 the other seven had been named,including Thompson.[ citation needed ]
Thompson was one of nine lawyers whose appointment these commentators criticized. On March 9,2010,Thompson's boss at O'Melveny &Myers,Walter Dellinger,described asking Thompson to aid Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler in preparing his defense for Canadian Guantanamo captive Omar Khadr. According to Dellinger Thompson's assistance on the Khadr case lasted several months,and was conducted in parallel with Thompson's prior duties with the firm.
Lawyers and commentators from across the political spectrum came forward to defend Thompson and the other appointees who had been singled out for criticism. [6] [7] [8] [9]
On May 24,2010,the Vancouver Sun reported that the Canwest News Service had recently learned that there was internal controversy within the Obama administration over new rules for conducting Guantanamo military commissions. [10] A new 281 page manual was prepared,to update the commissions to comply with changes following the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2009. Edwards wrote that the change would have triggered dropping charges against a third of the Guantanamo captives the Prosecution planned to charge with murder.
Edwards noted that persons from OLC sought an edit to get new rules. Edwards also noted that OLC employed two lawyers including Thompson,who had been dubbed members of the "Al Qaeda 7" because they had worked on behalf of terrorism suspects prior to joining the government. The article does not state,however,that Thompson played any role in this matter or any role in seeking these edits. [10]
In July 2015,Thompson signed a legal opinion regarding the Department of Justice Inspector General's access to certain narrow classes of information protected by the Federal Wiretap Act,Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) (which deals with grand jury matters),and section 626 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. [11] These laws protect highly sensitive information such as the contents of wiretapped private phone conversations,confidential grand jury testimony,and private credit,banking,and employment information obtained by the FBI. The opinion concludes that the Inspector General's access to such information is controlled by the terms of these laws,which say the Department "must not disclose," "may not disseminate," or would violate the law by disclosing the information except as specified in these laws,rather than by the terms of the Inspector General Act,which says the Department shall grant the Inspector General access to "all records" available to the Department.
The opinion also concludes that,under the terms of these laws,the Inspector General can obtain protected information for use in reviews of the Department's law enforcement operations (including misconduct investigations),but not for use in connection with reviews (like routine financial audits) that have no significant connection to the Department's conduct of its law enforcement functions. The opinion further concludes that when the Inspector General seeks access to protected information under these laws,a determination must be made that the investigation is related to the Department's law enforcement activities. In the case of wiretap and consumer credit information,the opinion does not say who must make that determination. In the case of grand jury information,the opinion concludes that,under the plain language of the Rules of Criminal Procedure,a government prosecutor must determine that the information can be shared. This involves an objective determination about whether the Inspector General's investigation is related to law enforcement,not a discretionary determination about whether the prosecutor feels that the Inspector General should receive the information. To date no documents have been ultimately denied but the OIG has complained that the need to comply with the terms of these laws is contrary to the letter and the spirit of the IG Act and has delayed the issuance of reports critical of the Justice Department.
Omar Ahmed Said Khadr is a Canadian citizen who at the age of 15 was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years,during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Christopher Speer and other charges. He later appealed his conviction,claiming that he falsely pleaded guilty so that he could return to Canada where he remained in custody for three additional years. Khadr sued the Canadian government for infringing his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms;this lawsuit was settled in 2017 with a CA$10.5 million payment and an apology by the federal government.
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.
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General's position as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the Attorney General and provides its own written opinions and other advice in response to requests from the Counsel to the President,the various agencies of the Executive Branch,and other components of the Department of Justice. The Office reviews and comments on the constitutionality of pending legislation. The office reviews any executive orders and substantive proclamations for legality if the President proposes them. All proposed orders of the Attorney General and regulations that require the Attorney General’s approval are reviewed. It also performs a variety of special assignments referred by the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General.
Morris Durham "Moe" Davis is an American retired U.S. Air Force colonel,attorney,educator,politician,and former administrative law judge.
Alberto JoséMora is a former General Counsel of the Navy. He led an effort within the Defense Department to oppose the legal theories of John Yoo and to try to end the use of torture at Guantanamo Bay.
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base,also referred to as Guantánamo,GTMO,and Gitmo,on the coast of Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Of the roughly 780 people detained there since January 2002 when the military prison first opened after the September 11 attacks,735 have been transferred elsewhere,36 remain there,and 9 have died while in custody.
The United States Department of Defense (DOD) had stopped reporting Guantanamo suicide attempts in 2002. In mid-2002 the DoD changed the way they classified suicide attempts,and enumerated them under other acts of "self-injurious behavior".
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Susan Jean Crawford is an American lawyer,who was appointed the Convening Authority for the Guantanamo military commissions,on February 7,2007. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Crawford to replace John D. Altenburg.
Jennifer C. Daskal is a Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Tech,Law,Security Program at the Washington College of Law at American University. Her work focuses on terrorism,national security and criminal law. She previously served as senior counsel for Human Rights Watch,focusing on similar issues. She also worked in the Department of Justice during the Obama administration,which was seeking to prosecute terror suspects through the criminal justice system instead of through military tribunals.
Steven Gill Bradbury is an American attorney and government official who served as the General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation. He previously served as Acting Assistant Attorney General (AAG) from 2005 to 2007 and Principal Deputy AAG from 2004 to 2009,heading the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the U.S. Department of Justice during President George W. Bush's second term.
Jack Landman Goldsmith is an American lawyer and Harvard Law School professor who has written extensively in the fields of international law,civil procedure,federal courts,conflict of laws,and national security law. He has been "widely considered one of the brightest stars in the conservative legal firmament."
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Robert J. Delahunty is an American attorney,legal scholar,and former government appointee who works as a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis,Minnesota. From 1989 to 2003,he worked in the Office of Legal Counsel. During his tenure there,he cowrote several legal opinions with John Yoo relating to interrogation,detention,and rendition of terror suspects.
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Neal Katyal, the department's principal deputy solicitor general, was once the lawyer for Osama bin Laden's driver. Jennifer Daskal, part of Obama's Detention Policy Task Force, advocated for detainees at Human Rights Watch.
Then again, you're not President Obama. His Justice Department has raised eyebrows by tapping Jennifer Daskal, formerly "senior counterterrorism counsel" at Human Rights Watch, to work as counsel in its National Security Division and to serve on a task force deciding the future of Guantanamo and its detainees.
Months ago, Senate Judiciary Committee member Charles Grassley asked Attorney General Eric Holder to disclose who in the administration had previously represented or agitated for alleged terrorists.
Also involved in seeking an edit were people in the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, insiders add. OLC, which assists U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in advising the president, employed two lawyers of a group the politically conservative campaign Keep America Safe recently dubbed the "al-Qaida Seven" because they had worked on behalf of terrorism suspects. One of the two, Karl Thompson, did work for the Khadr defence team for seven months from October 2008 while he worked for the firm O'Melveny & Myers, Fox News reported in March.