Latest at Gitmo's Camp Justice: Today's pretrial hearings in the 9/11 case are in an overnight recess after a brief morning session. All 5 defendants came to court for their first hearing of the pandemic, and lawyers had just begun questioning the new judge for conflicts when...
A higher court issued a complex 23-page ruling on a defense claim of shadowy decision making about the the judge picking process. Now the court is in recess to give all sides time to study it.
A few other observations from the war court this morning.
--This was the first 9/11 session of the pandemic and everybody in court wore masks -- except 4 of the 5 accused 9/11 plotters and the new judge, who took his off while being questioned about his background.
On the prosecution side, every single person, from lawyer to paralegal, was a civilian. The chief prosecutor, BG Mark Martins is retiring, and he and the other uniformed trial counsel were not present. Case veteran Clayton Trivett spoke for the government. nytimes.com/2021/07/09/us/…
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused 9/11 plot mastermind, looks much the same as early 2020 court appearances. His beard is still orange. His attire was traditional. He offered one-word, "yes," he understood his right to to waive attendance of the rest of this session's hearings.
The beards of the two youngest defendants -- KSM's nephew Ammar al Baluchi and Walid bin Attash, in their mid 40s -- are now graying.
Guards provided a padded rehabilitation chair for defendant Mustafa al Hawsawi, who sits on a pillow in court due to rectal damage.
Just five people represented the September 11 victims. A woman whose NYC firefighter brother was killed on 9/11 watched the proceedings with her husband -- and a family of three, a couple and young man, made their first ever visits to the court as "VFMs," victim family members.
And for you deep divers out there, here's a copy of the appeals panel ruling that the lawyers are now studying before resuming an examination of the judge, Col. McCall, tomorrow on whether to challenge his ability to preside. int.nyt.com/data/documentt…
This part struck me... More than a decade after Congress and the Executive reformed the formula for the Gitmo war court, an appeals panel is suggesting a fundamental change to how military judges are assigned and rotate through the hybrid federal-military court.

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More from @carolrosenberg

13 Sep
Good morning from the military commissions viewing site at Fort Meade where I will be watching this week's rare open session of the 9/11 proceedings at Camp Justice, Guantanamo Bay.
For now, we see Judge McCall's empty chair.
Court is now in session at Camp Justice. Four of the five defendants are in court. Defense lawyer Suzanne Lachelier says Mustafa al Hawsawi was in too much pain to come to court, awaiting an injection. She is offering a recitation of missed meetings and miscommunication.
She says she does not want to trigger a Forced Cell Extraction, but says she doesn't understand how there are so many disconnects after all these years.
Read 61 tweets
12 Sep
It is pack-out day at Guantánamo Bay for the TV crews that came down to report on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. A couple of media members load gear outside the old barracks now used as guest quarters. #NoBellhop
Update: Media may be packed out but this may not be departure day from Guantánamo Bay. The inbound charter from Andrews airbase with replacement war court staff (lawyers, translators other personnel) on board for the 9/11 hearings turned back due to mechanical problems.
Latest: The Gitmo bound war court shuttle has returned to Andrews airbase with what passengers onboard described as a bit of a hard landing. They are on the ground, still on the aircraft to see if mechanics can fix the problem by 3pm. Or scrub the mission and try again tomorrow.
Read 7 tweets
10 Sep
Good morning from Guantánamo Bay. Pretrial hearings resume today in the 9/11 case with prosecutors, defense lawyers invited to raise concerns about any issues they may have with the background of the new judge. nytimes.com/2021/08/20/us/…
The 9/11 pretrial hearing is now in session. None of the 5 defendants have come to court, which is not unusual. It's Friday and the detainees typically waive attendance in favor of morning holy day prayers. #Juma
Also, there's this...
I'm hearing that the detainees have been preoccupied with this health crisis over at Camp 5 prison.
nytimes.com/2021/09/10/us/…
Read 43 tweets
8 Sep
Good morning from Guantanamo Bay's Camp Justice on Day 2 of the first pandemic era hearings in the 9/11 case. Lawyers resume questioning the new military judge today on his background, relationships for potential conflicts. Image
Prosecutors, who typically go first, said they'd go last this time. The lawyers may also have an opportunity to say which of Judge McCall's vacated rulings they want revisited, revived. Here's my report from yesterday's interrupted session.
nytimes.com/2021/09/07/us/…
We are in lunch recess at Camp Justice. Lawyers for some of the 9/11 defendants have been asking the judge, Colonel Matt McCall, about his memories of that dark day.
He was in Hawaii, 6 time zones away, had not yet joined the Air Force. And a roommate woke him to watch the news.
Read 14 tweets
7 Sep
Good morning from Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay. The five men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks are due back in court this morning for the first time since February 2020. Everything shut down here because of the pandemic.
The judge is new. One of the lead defense lawyers is new. The chief prosecutor who has handled the case since arraignment is retiring. The court's Army guard force has been replaced at least twice -- and have never handled five detainees in the war court at one time.
Other changes since their last trip to court: The military moved Guantanamo's former CIA prisoners from a failing classified site to a preexisting maximum-security prison. All of the detainees were offered Covid vaccines, and some took them.
nytimes.com/2021/04/04/us/…
Read 4 tweets
5 Sep
Happening now: Defense lawyers with ⁦@GitmoWatch⁩ are briefing media, note that 15 years ago this weekend the CIA delivered the 9/11 defendants to Guantánamo Bay. The trial has yet to begin. Image
From left, lawyers Lt. Clayton Lawrence and David Bruck for 9/11 plot defendant Ramzi bin al-Shibh meet the media. Mr. Bruck is new to the case as skilled death-penalty defense counsel, has been meeting the prisoner since June. Image
Major US and foreign news networks and press are here at Guantánamo for this 9/11 anniversary hearing, including leading national security and Pentagon reporters. We’ve asked for similar briefings by prosecutors and the 9/11 families before Tuesday’s resumption of the hearings. Image
Read 4 tweets

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