I agree with Jack that military detention or trial by military commission are likely not available options for Ahmed Abu Khattala. But I'm hung up on a different point: Why are so many conservatives so m...

Many have criticized the Obama administration’s plans to try the alleged leader of the Benghazi, Ahmed Abu Khattala, in civilian court.  “Ahmed Abu Khattala should be held at Guantanamo as a potential en...

I largely agree with Steve Vladeck's excellent post on Judge Richard Posner's decision yesterday in Daoud and Judge Ilana Rovner's concurrence in that decision.

Paul already flagged yesterday’s Seventh Circuit decision in Daoud, in which the Court of Appeals reversed Judge Coleman’s headline-grabbing order—which had required the government to provide Daoud’s sec...

We’ll hear reply argument now, on the defense's filings in the AE292 series----which arise because of past FBI interviews of defense team personnel, and which ask the court to abate the proceedings and a...

James Connell III, Learned Counsel for Ammar Al-Baluchi, begins on a procedural note: the defense’s motion is less about wrongdoing, and more about the path forward. The court must perform an inquiry, th...

It’s on again.  After brief housekeeping, we quickly turn to the substance---and in particular to AE292 and 292T, pleadings jointly filed by the defense, and both asking for a wider inquiry into the gove...

Our special session convenes.  The scene differs a bit from the Guantanamo norm. Defense attorneys and staff are in the courtroom, along with the five 9/11 accused.  But, and consistent with the unique n...

You'll find it here.  We'll cover the two-day mini-hearing, which will commence tomorrow at 0900 down at Guantanamo. The statement opens: Good evening and Happy Father’s Day. I refer to Father’s Day wit...

Yesterday’s HASC Committee Hearing (video here) on the Bergdahl swap was pretty eventful.  At least two important legal issues were discussed: the legality of not notifying Congress about the swap, and t...

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit handed down its decision in Allaithi v.

President Obama complained yesterday that Sergeant Bergdahl is “not a political football.”   That should be true, but unfortunately President Obama is responsible for kicking off the football game by ann...