Top Congressional Researcher Fired For Criticizing Decision On Gitmo Trials

Morris Davis, a top foreign policy researcher for the Congressional Research Service, has been fired after writing an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that criticizes the Obama administration's decision to bring some Guantanamo detainees to trial, while others will face military commissions.

In the November 10 op-ed, Davis, who resigned as chief prosecutor for the U.S. military commission in 2007, claiming that the process was becoming politicized, called the decision to hold two types of trials a "mistake." He said that using two different legal settings "will establish a dangerous legal double standard that gives some detainees superior rights and protections, and relegates others to the inferior rights and protections of military commissions. This will only perpetuate the perception that Guantanamo and justice are mutually exclusive."

According to CRS spokesman Janine D'Addario, Davis was dismissed because he violated the policy of employees avoiding "any appearance of conflict of interest, especially when they are writing about controversial matters," which is an important part of CRS's commitment to "objective, balanced and authoritative" reports.

However, an unnamed CRS official tells Newsweek's Michael Isikoff that the incident reflects CRS director Daniel Mulhollan's "paranoid fear" about CRS employees commenting on political issues, and cites another instance of an employee being fired for publishing an op-ed critical of congressional oversight of the Iraq War. "The director is very strict about us giving out our personal views or taking a position on issues," says the official.

The official policy of the CRS is for employees not to comment on subjects they are responsible for researching. Davis was responsible for overseeing research relating to national defense, foreign policy, and international trade issues, but not issues relating to Guantánamo detainees, which are overseen by the Law Division of the CRS.

But Davis tells Newsweek that the op-ed enraged Mullhollan, who asked him "What the hell did I think I was doing? How would Congress react to this?", and cited a Wikipedia search he did that found that several of Davis's reports had mentioned "military commissions," and therefore represented a conflict of interest. Davis contends the use of "military commissions" was out of context.

Davis says the ACLU plans to challenge his dismissal, arguing that it violates his First Amendment rights.