Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor at Gitmo, was denied the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, apparently because he acted as a whistle blower in what was clearly unlawful political manipulation of the legal process by Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, and by former Pentagon general counsel William Haynes - the man who now oversees the military commissions...the same man who said:
We can't have acquittals.
Davis resigned his position last October in protest of Haynes, a torture advocate, being put in charge of his office, and because he became convinced that fair trials were impossible. He wrote an LA Times op-ed in December detailing his reasons. More recently, Davis testified for the defense in the case of Salim Hamdan, providing evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, and unlawful interference in the case by General Hartmann. As a result, the court ordered Hartmann to have no further involvement in any of the cases being tried. That was less than a month ago. Today Davis was notified that his service is considered dishonorable:
The military assistant to the Pentagon's general counsel's office, Col. Kelly Wheaton, told Davis in an e-mail that he was denied the medal because his service "has not been honorable."
"I wrote in my recommendation for disapproval that you quit your position when you were needed because you did not want to be supervised by a superior officer with whom you had a difference of opinion," Wheaton told Davis in an e-mail he shared with CNN. "I believe that this conduct was putting self above service."
Davis' take on the matter is a bit different, of course:
"If you can't differentiate unlawful command influence from a personal conflict, you have my deepest sympathy," Davis said he replied.
Note that Morris Davis has 25 years of service, and is generally very highly regarded.
Whistle blowers often fear, and expect, retribution of some sort. What's sad is when that retribution works to stifle honorable people from speaking out. Davis really went out on a limb to testify for the defense in what is clearly a rigged show trial. But this is his comment today:
Davis, who is scheduled to retire October 1 after 25 years of service, said he told defense lawyers for other commission defendants that he will not participate in their cases.
He said he fears that further action may be taken against him if he continues to speak out, adding that his testimony is already hurting him as he looks for a job in the private sector.
"I've been told I'm too toxic," Davis said.
Anybody hiring?