Cited: ABC News

The US government investigation into the work of lawyers representing detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba has begun and defense attorney Clive Stafford Smith is no stranger to them. Smith has been investigated 4 additional times for allegations ranging from rule violations on classified information to smuggling contraband that included Under Armor underwear and a Speedo bathing suit to one of his clients.

He says the allegations — which he takes very seriously — have gone nowhere, and he believes they are attempts by the government to intimidate him and other lawyers.

“Doing these Guantanamo cases has been intimidating enough as it is,” said Stafford Smith, who received anonymous death threats early on in his work. “On top of that, to have the government making these kind of threats is over the top.”

But some lawmakers and administration officials see the closer examination of the work of defense lawyers at Guantanamo Bay as necessary, despite the perception of it being “intimidating.”

n ongoing Justice Department investigation, for example, is looking into allegations that military lawyers — who have no connection to Stafford Smith — may have given their clients pictures of their CIA interrogators, a prospect that has many lawmakers alarmed.

By a unanimous vote earlier this week, the House Armed Services Committee approved a defense appropriations bill that includes a measure to expand the power of the Defense Department to investigate the “conduct and practices of lawyers” at Guantanamo.

The measure specifically instructs the DOD inspector general to examine the work of attorneys representing clients at Guantanamo Bay who may have “interfered with operations of the Department of Defense” and report back to Congress.

The measure’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., proposed the language to the bill because he was outraged by the allegations behind the Department of Justice investigation that is being led by U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

Miller said it’s important to subject detainee defense lawyers to greater scrutiny in order to “identify any policy violations,” that, he said, could compromise national security. “If an attorney was involved in trying to identify a covert CIA officer or their families, the attorney should be held accountable,” Miller told ABC News. “If they were not [involved], the attorney should not have anything to be concerned about.”

The measure is expected to be up for a vote before the full House today.

Lawyer Groups Bristle at Investigations of Detainee Lawyers

But many defense lawyers say the measure is too broad and risks infringing on constitutional freedoms.

The ACLU , which was working with the military lawyers alleged to have provided pictures of CIA officers to detainees, said the statute, if enacted “will prevent civilian and military defense attorneys from doing their jobs.”

Stephen Vladeck, an American University law professor who also defended a Guantanamo detainee, called Rep. Miller’s proposal “the latest salvo in the war on lawyers.”

The proposal to investigate any lawyer who “interferes” with detainee operations could ensnare “virtually every lawyer that has represented a detainee,” he wrote on his blog.

“From the government’s perspective, the representation itself has caused substantial interference, since lawyers have, among other things, informed detainees of their rights; petitioned the federal courts for the detainees release; obstructed the government’s ability to interrogate the detainees and so on,” he said.

The American Bar Association also opposes the provision in the defense bill.

“If passed, this legislation will have a severe chilling effect on the ability of lawyers to provide zealous advocacy and effective assistance of counsel to their clients at Guantanamo,” said Carol Lamm, president of the ABA.

Still, Rep. Miller believes expanded authority for the DOD to investigate lawyers working at Guantanamo holds them to “the same standard of any other individual.”

“Attorney-client privilege doesn’t give them the ability to break the law and compromise national security,” he said.

The Senate Armed Services will get the legislation after the full House votes on it and the debate is expected to continue.

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My Take: This is the type of situation that is very touchy for everyone. In our country, every criminal deserves a criminal lawyer Colorado. However, these criminals are suspected of killing hundreds or thousands of Americans. They may need criminal attorneys, but Americans would rather just take them out and shoot them.

But what I do not understand is why the government is using lawyers, who are Americans, of helping these criminals in any other way than a legal one. Just because a Monmouth County NJ criminal defense lawyer is representing a Guantánamo Bay detainee, does not mean that they are going to give them information they should not have or get them contraband.

I could see it being a problem if these detainees represented by a Denver alimony attorney or expungement lawyer, but they need criminal attorneys. Even a NJ DUI lawyer might raise eyebrows. I’m just so confused as to why they are investigating lawyers. I could see an investigation of these lawyers are taking these jobs are connected with drug lords or crime bosses. But if they’re just US citizens providing legal services, they should be left alone to do their jobs.

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