Army can't prove espionage, accuses chaplain of adultery instead

Kirnwaffen · December 22, 2003, 18:26

Quote:

Army chaplain fights charges at Fort Benning

By RICHARD WHITT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FORT BENNING -- Testimony about illicit sex and pornography dominated the preliminary hearing here Monday for a Muslim Army chaplain initially suspected of espionage.

Army Capt. James J. Yee, who ministered to 660 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was investigated as a possible spy but never charged with espionage. Instead, the Army charged Yee, 35, with improperly transporting classified documents, lying to investigators, storing pornographic material on his government computer and adultery -- a crime under military law.

The preliminary hearing, which continues today, is to determine whether there is enough evidence to move forward with a court-martial.

If convicted of all counts, Yee could face dismissal from the Army and up to 13 years in prison.

Critics have argued the Army is out to damage the chaplain's reputation because investigators failed to make spy allegations against him stick. Yee was held for 76 days in a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., as the initial allegations were investigated. His detention led to congressional hearings on the Pentagon's process for clearing Muslim chaplains for service.

One of Yee's civilian attorneys, Eugene Fidell, said it was "quite disgraceful that this officer's reputation was tarnished in a way that can never be repaired."

Yee's attorneys repeatedly claimed prosecutors were sandbagging their client by withholding information.

Col. Daniel Trimble, the presiding officer in the military tribunal and who acts much like a civilian judge, granted defense attorneys repeated delays to read documents and prepare themselves to question witnesses.

At one point Monday, a frustrated Fidell blasted Army prosecutors for dumping a "blizzard" of paper documents on him, calling it "trial by ambush."

Yee, a West Point graduate who was transferred to Fort Benning after his release from Charleston, is married to a Palestinian woman who lived in Syria.

Authorities arrested Yee when he arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station on Sept. 10 as he was beginning a leave from Guantanamo.

Testifying by telephone from Jacksonville, Immigration Special Agent Sean Rafferty said Monday he intercepted Yee at the airport after receiving a tip that the chaplain might be in possession of classified documents.

Citing security concerns, Rafferty did not describe in detail the documents Yee was carrying. The agent said none was stamped "classified" but that he found numerous handwritten notes and drawings that he determined were suspicious. Among the documents, which were turned over to the FBI, was information about Guantanamo detainees and their interrogators, Rafferty said.

Navy Lt. Karyn E. Wallace, 36, the first witness at the hearing, testified she had a sexual relationship with Yee while they were stationed at Guantanamo. Testifying under a grant of immunity, Wallace, who is now based in San Diego, said she met Yee in early June and the relationship grew into a romantic and eventually a sexual one after about a month.

Wallace said their relationship lasted until Sept. 8 or 9.

"How would you characterize your relationship?" Trimble asked.

She answered that it was "romantic" and, when asked again, described it as "sexual." Asked how many times she and Yee had sexual relations, she replied, "Twenty? I don't know."

Yee sat impassively across the courtroom as Wallace testified.

Yee's wife, Huda, her head covered in a floral scarf, shut her eyes during Wallace's testimony. She occasionally held the couple's 4-year-old daughter on her lap.

The two women met briefly outside the courtroom and in a brief exchange Huda Yee could be heard uttering "*****" to Wallace.

Army investigators testified Yee used his military computer to view materials in violation of military code. Special Agent Jennie Callahan, who examined the hard drive, said Yee had conducted Yahoo searches on pornographic Web sites. Yee also had looked at Web sites for prostitutes, she said.

A recommendation on whether to proceed with Yee's court-martial could be several weeks away, according to Army officials.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news...9chaplain.html

Looks to me like the Army is trying to save face. There's a Newsweek article too, and they said that the prosecution was unprepared for the initial hearing.

Q Classic · December 22, 2003, 18:30

pfeh. it's the yellow peril anyway.

Sprayber · December 22, 2003, 19:16

Quote:

Army Capt. James J. Yee, who ministered to 660 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was investigated as a possible spy but never charged with espionage. Instead, the Army charged Yee, 35, with improperly transporting classified documents, lying to investigators, storing pornographic material on his government computer and adultery -- a crime under military law.

So I guess all that other stuff should just be swept under the carpet. Just because they can't prove one charge doesn't mean the others shouldn't be dealt with. Or should they give him a free pass?

Lefty Scaevola · December 22, 2003, 19:30

"improperly transporting classified documents" is what the espianage investigation was originaly based on. Apparently they could not dig up any eivdence of who he was going to give them to, and just kept the lesser charge. There is nothing ureasonable of invetigation someone who has classified material at the wrong place and time for espionage.

Ned · December 22, 2003, 20:11

This is blatant religious discrimination. Lee, as a devout Muslim, has the right to four wives and as many conquebines as he can afford. Where is the ACLU and the Democrat candidates when you need them?

CorpusScorpius · December 22, 2003, 20:17

UCMJ can be a mother *******............

Nubclear · December 22, 2003, 20:17

No attempt at diversion here. Nope. These are honest to goodness charges. Yep. Thats it.

GhengisFarb™ · December 22, 2003, 20:20

Dang this is old. This was all over the news 6 months ago.

Zylka · December 22, 2003, 20:23

Quote:

improperly transporting classified documents, lying to investigators

Gee! Nothing wrong with those two! Sounds like maybe they're trying to get him out because they still have suspicions but can't quite prove it in a court of law. OH NO WAIT, THEY KNOW THEY'RE WRONG BUT THEY'RE JUST "SAVING FACE". THIS IS MAINLY ABOUT ADULTERY TOO, AS THE THREAD TITLE SUGGESTS.

This is often procedure for pretty much knowing your defendant is guilty but not being able to prove it to impartial judging on technicality. YOU THROW THE BOOK AT THEM to get the same out and some time for something else. Saving face??? HOLY ****, get a grasp of real world dealings or go back to your Indymedia forums.

Kirnwaffen · December 22, 2003, 20:40

Quote:

So I guess all that other stuff should just be swept under the carpet. Just because they can't prove one charge doesn't mean the others shouldn't be dealt with. Or should they give him a free pass?

If he's truly guilty, then no. However, it was entirely inappropriate for the Army to drag him through the mud in the way that they did if that's all they have against him.

Oerdin · December 22, 2003, 20:42

He has been charged with multiple crimes and just because one charge is having trouble the others should be dropped?

Tripledoc · December 22, 2003, 21:07

So he is downloading porn in order to share it with the inmates of Guantanamo and thereby trying to make them into good Americans. Secondly he, as presumably the only heterosexual at the place, is having an affair with a woman officer. Thirdly he is not a spy.

Zylka · December 22, 2003, 21:09

Great, nice to see you were there to arrive at those ultra specific conclusions on select charges. Anything else, princess?

GhengisFarb™ · December 22, 2003, 22:10

He was trafficing in documents for the prisoners at Guantanomo and the outside world. All correspondence was supposed to be checked by MI people and he carried stuff in a briefcase without informing anyone and thereby bypassing the Intel analyists.

I don't care if it wasn't detailed terrorist plans, who knows what they might have hidden in seemingly harmless info. And who knows what the analyists could have discovered from it. Everything was supposed to be checked and he was slipping stuff through.

Since the info was seemingly harmless they can't charge him with much. What maybe a half month's pay and extra duty? What he actually did had potential to kill thousands of people.

Sprayber · December 22, 2003, 23:33

Quote:

Originally posted by Kirnwaffen

If he's truly guilty, then no. However, it was entirely inappropriate for the Army to drag him through the mud in the way that they did if that's all they have against him.

The Army has done lot's of things that are inappropriate things in the past. they are regretable. But getting to the bottom of Transporting secret material is not one of them I don't think.