Reply of June 30, 2005, to Henry Waxman

To: The Honorable Henry A. Waxman|
U. S. House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 205 15-6143
Thru: The Honorable Joseph E. Schmitz
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Defense
Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Representative Waxman,

This is in response to your June 1,2005 request that the Department of Defense investigate allegations that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay made anti-Semitic remarks to detainees in order to interfere with the relationship between these detainees and their attorney. Your letter refers to a declaration by Mr. Thomas Wilner, counsel for several detainees. Mr. Wilner submitted his declaration as part of a motion during ongoing habeas corpus litigatio~in the federal courts.

The Department of Defense works closely with the Department of Justice in responding to motions by counsel for the detainees. In this case, Mr. Esteban Rodriguez, Director, Joint Intelligence Group, Joint Task Force, Guantanamo Cuba prepared a declaration (Encl) that responds directly to Mr. Wilner's allegations. The Department of Justice used Mr. Rodriguez's declaration to formally reply to Mr. Wilner's motion. Mr. Rodriguez's declaration confirms that the Department of Defense does not allow interrogators to interfere with the relationship between detainees and their lawyers. As noted by Mr. Rodriquez's declaration, the allegations that the interrogators made anti- ' 'Semitic comments or told the detainees not to trust their lawyers are false. The court has yet to rule on the matter. I hope,you find this information useful.

Sincerely,
Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps
Chief of Staff, U.S. Southern Command