Pentagon Official Who Spoke of Rigging Gitmo Trials Resigns

Pentagon General Counsel William J. Haynes II will resign his position with the U.S. Department of Defense next month, according to an announcement from the DOD Monday. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates commented that Haynes' tenure as D.O.D. general counsel was the longest in US history. Principal Deputy General Counsel Daniel Dell'Orto will serve as acting general counsel after Haynes' departure.

Haynes leaves the Department of Defense less than five months after former Guantanamo Bay chief military prosecutor Col. Morris Davis resigned his position citing political pressure from the Defense Department. In an interview with The Nation last week, Davis implied the tribunal process may be rigged, saying that Haynes had told him none of the detainees could be acquitted. President George W. Bush nominated Haynes for a federal appeals court judgeship multiple times since 2003, but the nomination was never approved by the Senate and was eventually withdrawn in 2007. Haynes' nomination met resistance in part over his role in helping to draft the Defense Department's detention and interrogation policies after September 11th.