Razor wire and a guard tower stands at a section of the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay on October 22, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. | John Moore/Getty Images Pentagon official releases Marine general confined in Guantanamo dispute The underlying fight is over alleged snooping on defense lawyers representing Guantánamo prisoners charged in the military commissions.

A Pentagon official ordered the release Friday of a Marine Corps general who was sentenced to 21 days confinement to quarters in connection with a dispute over defense attorneys at the Guantánamo Bay military tribunals.

A Defense Department lawyer who heads up the military commissions, Harvey Rishikof, agreed to a "deferral" of the punishment imposed on Brig. Gen. John Baker by a military judge Wednesday afternoon, according to a court filing.


An attorney for Baker confirmed he was advised that he is no longer confined to his quarters at Guantánamo.

"I have spoken with him and he has been told he is free to go," Baker's lawyer Barry Pollack told POLITICO.

Friday's move came about an hour before a federal judge in Washington convened a hearing on a habeas corpus petition seeking Baker's immediate release.

By releasing Baker, the Pentagon appeared to lessen the risk of a quick order from U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth that could void Baker's conviction or sentence.

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Indeed, at the court sessions in Washington on Friday, Lamberth praised Rishikof's move.

"I appreciate the position the government's taking here," the judge said. "The first exercise of his discretion was a wise one."

Justice Department lawyers have argued that Lamberth should not intrude in the military justice system and in efforts by the Guantánamo judge, Air Force Col. Vance Spath, to control events in his courtroom.

Justice attorney Terry Henry said Baker's release had alleviated any urgency to resolving Baker's habeas petition — a type of legal challenge claiming unlawful detention by the government.

"Our position is there's not an emergency here that requires undue expedition of these proceedings," Henry said. "The appropriate course of action in this case is to stay the proceedings ... The military commission process needs to work those issues out."

However, Pollack urged Lamberth to rule on the petition, arguing that there is no statute allowing Spath to punish Baker for refusing to comply with an order.

"This is an unlawful order not authorized by Congress to detain a United States citizen," Pollack said, encouraging Lamberth not to "stand down."

"I'm not standing down," the judge replied. "The only question is whether I wait a little while to see what the military does to clean up their own act.”

Lamberth ultimately declined to halt the habeas case, but said he'd wait a "reasonable time" to allow the military to consider how to address the dispute.

"I'd like to give the military an opportunity to review it first," the judge said. "I don't see the direct harm now that he's released from confinement that would cause me to have to do it today."

At a hearing Thursday, Lamberth seemed concerned that Baker had no obvious mechanism to appeal his conviction.

The underlying fight is over alleged snooping on defense lawyers representing Guantánamo prisoners charged in the military commissions.

Spath held Baker in contempt after he refused to rescind an order he issued excusing three civilian defense attorneys over concerns about intrusions on privileged attorney-client communications.

The three defense lawyers were part of a team representing accused U.S.S. Cole bombing mastermind Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri and declined to travel to the U.S.-run base in Cuba earlier this week for pretrial commission hearings.

After the hearing Friday, Pollack told reporters he hopes the Pentagon finds a way to undo the action against Baker.

"It is certainly my hope that [Rishikof] will very quickly come to the obviously conclusion that the military judge lacked the legal authority to find Gen. Baker in contempt and will reverse that unlawful decision," Pollack said.

One complexity in doing that contempt case against Baker is that it's not clear Rishikof has authority to review the conviction, although he does appear to have authority to defer or reduce the sentence.

In fact, Pollack contends no law or regulation gives Rishikof authority to overturn the conviction, which might mean that Lamberth ultimately will have to rule on the legal issues involved even if he is reluctant to do so.