Apology Not Accepted - New York Times
The New York Times

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January 19, 2007
Editorial
Apology Not Accepted

It is hard to render a convincing apology when you are not really
apologizing. Consider Charles Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of
defense for detainee
affairs, who has been trying to spin his way out of his loathsome attempt to
punish lawyers who represent inmates of the Guantánamo Bay internment camp.

Last week, Mr. Stimson expressed his "shock" that major American law firms
would represent terrorism suspects, hinted that they were paid by unsavory
characters
and suggested that companies should reconsider doing business with them. On
Wednesday, Mr. Stimson said he apologized and regretted that his comments
"left
the impression" that he was attacking the integrity of those lawyers.

It was not just an impression. It was exactly what he did. Mr. Stimson
actually read out a list of law firms during an interview with a radio
station friendly
to the Bush administration.

Mr. Stimson clearly had no regard for his position as a public official who
helps set policy on the detainees, never mind the small matter of people's
basic
right to representation. He connected the detainees to the 9/11 attacks,
even though he certainly knows that the very few detainees who have a
connection
to 9/11 don't have legal representation.

President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates should have fired him.
Their silence was deafening, although hardly surprising given the
administration's
record of trampling on people's rights in the name of fighting terror. But
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was not silent. In an interview with The
Associated
Press, Mr. Gonzales actually expanded the attack on lawyers, claiming that
it has taken as long as five years to bring detainees to trial because of
delays
caused by their lawyers.

There's no truth to that. The cause of the delay in bringing any Guantánamo
detainee to trial is Mr. Bush himself. He refused to hold trials at first,
then
refused to work with Congress on the issue and claimed the power to devise
his own slanted court system. Mr. Bush went to Congress only when the
Supreme
Court struck those courts down. The result was a bill establishing military
tribunals for detainees that is a mockery of American justice.

Mr. Stimson's appalling behavior should not be overlooked by the relevant
bar disciplinary committee. Existing rules for lawyers deem it professional
misconduct
to do things that are prejudicial to the administration of justice. Even if
the administration does not, the legal profession imposes a higher duty on
those holding public office to obey proper standards of behavior.

Correction: An earlier version of this editorial referred to Charles Stimson
as the deputy assistant secretary of state for detainee affairs. His correct
title is deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs.

Copyright 2007
The New York Times Company

Posted by Miriam V.