Robert L. Swann (military lawyer)

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There are multiple individuals named Robert L. Swann.

Robert L. Swann is an American lawyer, and Colonel in the United States Armed Services. He is currently the lead prosecutor on the cases of Khalid Sheik Muhammed and Mr. Mustafa Al-Hawsawi.

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[edit] Work on the prosecution team of the Guantanamo military commissions

Swann was the second Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions, replacing Fred Borch.[1][2]

[edit] Internal criticisms of Borch

Australian newspapers broke the story, in the summer of 2005, that three other lawyers on the prosecution team had criticisms of the ethics of Borch's behavior.[3][4][5][6] The three prosecutors whose memos were leaked were: Robert Preston John Carr, and Carrie Wolf. Their memos, which were written in 2003, were leaked in 2005. Those memos stated:

  • That Borch had assured the prosecution team that the officers sitting in judgment on the commission would be handpicked to be sure to convict, so prosecutors didn't have to worry about doing a good job.
  • That Borch had assured the prosecution team that any exculpatory evidence in favor of the suspects would be classified, so it wouldn't be made available to the suspect, or his defense team.

Preston, Carr and Wolf were all reassigned, as they requested. All three were subsequently promoted.

Borch, meanwhile, resigned his commission. And the structure of the Military commission was extensively revised. Swann supported the revisions, including removing two of the original Commission members.[7]

Main article: Guantanamo military commission 1.0

[edit] A prosecutor has concerns under Swann's watch

On March 31, 2007 the Wall Street Journal published a long article about Stuart Couch, another member of the prosecution team, who had worked under Swann.[8][9][10][11][12] According to the Wall Street Journal Couch considered requesting reassignment from the prosecution team, but instead merely requested reassignment from working on the prosecution of Mohamedou Ould Slahi. While Couch believed that Slahi was actually guilty, he had come to believe that the confessions and other evidence against Slahi had all been too tainted by abusive interrogation techniques for it to ethical to use it. Couch thought that the interrogation techniques had violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the United States own laws, and International treaties which the United States was obliged to obey because it was a signatory.

According to the Wall Street Journal Couch and Swann had a loud and acrimonious confrontation over his decision.[8][9] Its article reported that when Swann learned of Couch's moral reservations he demanded: "What makes you think you're so much better than the rest of us around here?"

The Wall Street Journal further reported:[8][9]

"An impassioned debate followed, the prosecutor recalls. Col. Swann said the Torture Convention didn't apply to military commissions. Col. Couch asked his superior to cite legal precedent that would allow the president to disregard a treaty."

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Chief Guantanamo Prosecutor Departs", National Public Radio, April 22, 2004. Retrieved on April 12. 
  2. ^ Kathleen T. Rhem. "Many Issues Raised in First Week of Commissions Hearings", American Forces Press Service, August 27, 2004. Retrieved on April 12. 
  3. ^ "Leaked emails claim Guantanamo trials rigged", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 1, 2005. Retrieved on April 11. 
  4. ^ "Military Denies Rigging Guantanamo Tribunals", Washington Post, August 2, 2005. Retrieved on April 11. 
  5. ^ "Third prosecutor critical of Guantanamo trials", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 3, 2005. Retrieved on April 11. 
  6. ^ Pamela Hess. "Lawyers criticize Bush trials plan,", United Press International, July 13, 2006. Retrieved on April 11. 
  7. ^ "Officer in Guantanamo hearings urges dismissal of two panelists", USA Today, September 21, 2004. Retrieved on April 12. 
  8. ^ a b c Jess Bravin. "The Conscience of the Colonel", Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2007. Retrieved on April 11. 
  9. ^ a b c Jess Bravin (March 31, 2007). The Conscience of the Colonel. mirror of the Wall Street Journal article. Retrieved on April 11, 2007.
  10. ^ "Three tales of Gitmo 'taint'", Monterey Herald, Saturday April 7, 2007. Retrieved on April 11. 
  11. ^ Robert Scheer. "Leave Your Morals at the Border", The Nation, April 4, 2007. Retrieved on April 11. 
  12. ^ Scott Horton. "Colonel with a Conscience", Harpers, April 2, 2007. Retrieved on April 11.