Pentagon's order for judges to move to Guantanamo contested at hearing

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McClatchy :

Pentagon's order for judges to move to Guantanamo contested at hearing

 

BY CAROL ROSENBERG

Miami HeraldFebruary 24, 2015 Updated 5 hours ago

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, CUBA — A military judge on Monday called the top Pentagon official overseeing the war court to testify on why the Defense Department suddenly ordered judges to move down to this remote base until they’ve wrapped up complex death-penalty cases that are months if not years away from trial.

Air Force Col. Vance Spath, the judge, agreed to the testimony sought by lawyers for the alleged USS Cole bomber who argue the order to judges to move to Guantánamo seeks to illegally meddle in the war crimes trials. He told Pentagon prosecutors that the architect of the relocation order, retired Marine Maj. Gen. Vaughn Ary, should either get on a plane to Guantánamo or be available to testify by teleconference on Tuesday afternoon.