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Tribunals overseer under investigation

The general is accused of abusing his power in Guantanamo cases.

October 25, 2008|Josh Meyer, Meyer is a Times staff writer.

The Air Force website says Hartmann in his new role "acts as the senior and single point of contact within the Department of Defense for the initiation, review, staffing, coordination and execution of all planning and development matters relating to military commissions."

Scott Silliman, a Duke University law professor and 25-year veteran of the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps, said the case is extremely significant, in that only a handful of U.S. military investigations in recent years have focused on a general -- especially one at the heart of the tribunals that have been a centerpiece of the Bush administration's global war on terrorism.


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"If there is a finding that Hartmann exceeded his role," Silliman said, "I think every defense lawyer is going to walk in and move for some kind of relief in their case, and say it was not handled properly and move for the charges to be dismissed or refiled based on Hartmann's activities."

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josh.meyer@latimes.com

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