Stuart Couch
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 Stuart Couch is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer and officer in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

.

Reaction to the attacks of September 11, 2001

Couch had a friend, from his Marine Corps service, Michael Horrocks, who was a co-pilot of one of the jets hijacked on September 11, 2001.
Couch is reported to have returned to service, following the attacks, so he could
"get a crack at the guys who attacked the United States."

Service as a prosecutor at the Guantanamo Military Commissions

Couch was assigned to serve as one of the prosecutors of Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Mohamedou Ould Slahi or Salahi is a Mauritanian who has been detained at Guantánamo Bay detention camp since August 4, 2002...

.
He is reported to have called Slahi a captive
"with blood on his hands."

Couch withdrew from Slahi's procecution team, although he believed Slahi was guilty, because he believed he was asked to use evidence that had been obtained through means of interrogation that violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....

, U.S. laws, and the United States' treaty obligations.

On July 19, 2007 the Globe and Mail
quoted an email from Couch:
On February 26, 2009, the Virginia Law Weekly
Virginia Law Weekly
Virginia Law Weekly is a weekly newspaper published by students at the University of Virginia School of Law each Friday of the school year, excluding breaks and exam periods. In 2006, 2007, and 2008 the Law Weekly was recognized as Best Law School Newspaper by the Law Student Division of the...

 profiled Couch.
In a lecture Couch delivered he said:

Couch was later to learn that Slahi had been put on a "special projects" interrogation plan.

Testimony before Congress

Couch was scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 on Thursday
November 8, 2007.
An e-mail from the Department of Defense's General Counsel, William J. Haynes, II
William J. Haynes, II
William James "Jim" Haynes II is an American lawyer and former General Counsel of the Department of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration. Haynes resigned as General Counsel effective March 2008...

, informed him on November 7, 2007:

Congressional Representative Jerrold Nadler
Jerrold Nadler
Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Nadler is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1992. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes the west side of Manhattan from the Upper West Side down to Battery Park, including the site where the World Trade Center stood...

 criticized the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 Presidency for stonewalling by withholding Couch's testimony.

See also

  • Robert Preston (military lawyer)
  • Carrie Wolf
  • John Carr (military lawyer)
  • Stephen Abraham
    Stephen Abraham
    Stephen Abraham is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army Reserve.He is notable because he is the first officer who served with the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants to publicly criticize the operations of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals...



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