Should advocates of alleged terrorists and detainees in the War on Terror be working in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the White House Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)? A silly question, sure, pretty much a no-brainer. So why ask the question? Because believe it or not, there are Obama appointees inside the DOJ and lawyers inside the White House OLC that advocated on behalf of detainees and suspected terrorists.
On Friday, February 19, 2010, Byron York reported on Attorney General Eric Holder’s confession to housing nine Presidential appointments within the DOJ that “represented or advocated for terrorist detainees before joining the Justice Department.”
Holder Admitted That Of The Nine, “Five . . . Represented Detainees, And Four Others Either Contributed To Amicus Briefs In Detainee-Related Cases Or Were Otherwise Involved In Advocacy On Behalf Of Detainees.” (Byron York, “Holder Admits Nine Obama Dept. Of Justice Officials Worked For Terrorist Detainees, Offers No Details,” Washington Examiner, 2/19/10)
“Obama Appointee, Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, Formerly Represented Osama Bin Laden's Driver . . .” (Byron York, “Holder Admits Nine Obama Dept. Of Justice Officials Worked For Terrorist Detainees, Offers No Details,” Washington Examiner, 2/19/10)
“. . . Another Appointee, Jennifer Daskal, Previously Advocated For Detainees At Human Rights Watch.” (Byron York, “Holder Admits Nine Obama Dept. Of Justice Officials Worked For Terrorist Detainees, Offers No Details,” Washington Examiner, 2/19/10)
Early this morning, Meghan Clyne of The Daily Caller reported that there are “at least two attorneys hired to serve in the White House counsel’s office — part of President Obama’s in-house team of legal advisers — represented Guantanamo detainees in their previous legal careers.”
White House Associate Counsel Jonathan Kravis “Volunteered” For Alleged Yemeni Terrorist Salim Hamdan’s Legal Case. “And while a student at Yale Law School, one of Gottlieb’s fellow associate counsels, Jonathan Kravis, volunteered his time as part of the team that ultimately secured legal victory for alleged Yemeni terrorist Salim Hamdan in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.” (Meghan Clyne, “At least two Obama White House lawyers represented Guantanamo detainees,” The Daily Caller, 3/4/10)
• “According to biographies released by the White House, Kravis was hired in January 2009 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.” (Meghan Clyne, “At least two Obama White House lawyers represented Guantanamo detainees,” The Daily Caller, 3/4/10)
White House Associate Counsel Michael Gottlieb “Argued On Behalf Of Alleged Terrorist Lakhdar Boumediene.” “While an associate at the Washington office of the prestigious law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, Michael Gottlieb — tapped for a White House associate counsel position — was part of the team that successfully argued on behalf of alleged terrorist Lakhdar Boumediene (of Boumediene v. Bush fame).” (Meghan Clyne, “At least two Obama White House lawyers represented Guantanamo detainees,” The Daily Caller, 3/4/10)
• “Gottlieb was tapped at the same time from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where he worked following his tenure at WilmerHale.” (Meghan Clyne, “At least two Obama White House lawyers represented Guantanamo detainees,” The Daily Caller, 3/4/10)
Gottlieb And Kravis Are “Fairly Senior” And “Provide Substantial Legal Guidance To The White House Counsel And To The President.” “People familiar with the White House Counsel’s Office describe their positions — associate counsels — as fairly senior, noting that the attorneys usually provide substantial legal guidance to the White House counsel and to the president.” (Meghan Clyne, “At least two Obama White House lawyers represented Guantanamo detainees,” The Daily Caller, 3/4/10)
Curiously, the White House responded saying that implying “that lawyers share the views of their clients represents a fundamental misunderstanding of their professional duties and the American justice system.”
Touché, but what about Kravis who “volunteered” his time to work on the Hamdan case? Do folks usually volunteer their time to a cause they don’t believe in?
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