Pentagon Official Resigns After Criticizing Lawyers Representing Gitmo Defendents

[kpete]

Defense official resigns over remarks
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A senior Pentagon official resigned Friday over controversial remarks in which he criticized lawyers who represent terrorism suspects, the Defense Department said.

Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Charles "Cully" Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, told him on Friday that he had made his own decision to resign and was not asked to leave by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Stimson said he was leaving because of the controversy over a radio interview in which he said he found it shocking that lawyers at many of the nation's top law firms represent detainees held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba.

"He believed it hampered his ability to be effective in this position," Whitman said of the backlash to Stimson's comments.

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[Nickster]

1. Geez, about dang time. I was wondering how long it would take this creep to get lost. Too bad they

allowed him to "resign".

[MADem]

9. I have a feeling that the senior JAGS across the Services had a meeting with Gates

And while they didn't say they wouldn't work with the guy, because that's not "on" when you are in uniform, they indicated that his continued presence would be highly problematic and tension-filled.

See, those JAGS are different, and they have their affilations with the ABA and other institutions. It's not quite the "serve two masters" conundrum that some of these military chaplains whine about, but those lawyers know that after they toss the uniform in the dark corner of the closet, they've still got that sheepskin, and none of them want to be seen as enabling an idiotic fuckwad like that clown.

[Nickster]

11. I hope that was the scenario. But he SHOULD have been run out on a rail. n/t

[MADem]

13. They're being pragmatic. They don't want to call too much attention to the issue.

It's not helpful to THEM to be "affiliated" one way or another--it affects their veneer of impartiality. And if they were seen gathered around the bonfire as the guy burned at the stake, it would cause them to be seen as partial, and that's not helpful to them.

They wanted him gone, that was the goal. And they reached it in quiet fashion. It is probably enough that he's gone, for them.

[Jack from Charlotte]

12. I'll bet you're right and I'm glad to hear it............

That scumbag, anti-American sh*t knew exactly what he was doing when he read the list of companies that use the law firms that did work for those defendants. Even the scumbags apology was a joke and you KNEW that was the plan.... put fear into the companies for hiring the lawyers.

[kpete]

18. I wish it was

the first of many

Peace to you Nickster

[terip64]

2. Good! Kick and Recommend!

[kerry-is-my-prez]

3. May this country isn't TOTALLY gone afterall.

only 80% gone down the drain.

[originalpckelly]

4. That's another weasel leaving!

:woohoo:

Fucking asshole had a lot of nerve criticizing lawyers doing their fucking jobs.

[MADem]

5. Open mouth...insert foot...leg, all the way to your asshole!! What a PUTZ!!!

Hampered his ability, eh? How very Republican! Here's the real world translation of that phrase: Decimated his credibility!!

And ya gotta love this bullshit about his remarks not reflecting his values--what, was that his ASS doing the talking??? What a JERK! I hope his parting gift is a Pentagon Plaque with a brass plate on it that says "AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON!"

Stimson drew outrage from the legal community — and a disavowal from the Defense Department — for his Jan. 11 comments, in which he also suggested some attorneys were being untruthful about doing the work free of charge and instead were "receiving moneys from who knows where."

He also said companies might want to consider taking their legal business to other firms that do not represent suspected terrorists.

"I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms," Stimson told Federal News Radio.

Stimson publicly apologized several days after the radio interview, saying his comments did not reflect his values and that he firmly believes in the principles of the U.S. legal system.

[notadmblnd]

10. Wern't his values? Was he speaking for someone else?

some entity that just wanted to get the word out to our nations attorneys and corporations?

[MADem]

14. Ahhh, those were the values of his naughty lower digestive tract, see?

They were speaking out of turn, and out his ass!! :rofl:

[rodeodance]

6. Gates shoud have demanded his resignation!

[MADem]

15. He probably did, but he did it this way

"Here's the deal, nitwit. You can either submit your resignation voluntarily, or I'll ask for it. You've got (fill in number of days or weeks) to make up your mind. If I don't see your letter on my desk by that time, I'll go to the President and get his signature on a letter publicly directing you to submit your resignation. What's it gonna be, resignation with a bit of speculation, or public humiliation? The choice is yours."

I've served as a witness at firings of that type. There's a polite and insincere fiction that is maintained that the person left under their own steam, but in actual fact, they were shot out of the cannon!

[AlCzervik]

7. excellent, gotta love Friday news dumps.

[MADem]

16. Yeah, we all oughta write to Timmy Potatohead and Tweety and tell them to cover this

resignation on their Sunday shows....after all, they HATE each other!

I'm loving the dirt coming out of the Libby trial!

[AlCzervik]

17. me too, i would love to hear more about the hate fest, details.

[H2O Man]

8. Oh, good.

That guy really should have been fired.