Abd Al Rahim Hussayn Muhammad Al Nashiri

After three months away, pretrial hearings in the USS Cole case are set to resume, with military judge Air Force Colonel Vance Spath calling the session to order. The judge notes those who are present, including two new additions to the prosecution, Colonel John Wells and Major Michael Pierson. For the defense, Richard Kammen kicks things off by addressing his wardrobe for the occasion: “As the court knows, my luggage somehow did not get on the plane at Andrews … I apologize I have no tie.

The other day, Quinta and I noted that counsel for Abd al Rahim Al-Nashiri had asked the court in his habeas case to have a copy of the Senate Intelligence Committee's interrogation report filed under seal with the court. Yesterday, Judge Royce Lamberth issued an order doing just that:

On Sunday, December 11th, Military Commissions Chief Prosecutor Mark Martins issued the following statement on the pretrial hearings to be conducted in the USS Cole case over the course of this week. The statement is also available here.

Hearings continue today at Guantanamo in the USS Cole case. Military judge Air Force Colonel Vance Spath calls the commission to order and quickly informs the lawyers that he has signed the writ of attachment compelling the testimony of Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander Stephen Gill, who refused to travel to the Mark Center in Virginia to testify by video-link yesterday.