Charges Dropped Against Chaplain
By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: March 20, 2004
WASHINGTON, March 19 ? The military said Friday night that it was dropping all
charges, including one of mishandling classified information, against Capt.
James J. Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The case against Captain Yee, who officials once suggested was part of an
espionage ring, had become a lingering embarrassment for the Pentagon.
In a statement released from the United States Southern Command in Miami, the
military said it did not want to proceed with a trial on the charge of
mishandling classified data because to do so could expose sensitive evidence
to public view.
The remaining charges of adultery and possession of pornography against
Captain Yee were also dropped. But he will have to face an administrative
hearing on those accusations, and he could be penalized by having an official
rebuke placed in his record.
The resolution of the case means that Captain Yee will not have to face an
Army court-martial. At the same time, the military did not affirmatively clear
him of the charge of mishandling classified data, but said it chose not to
prosecute only to protect sensitive documents.
His lawyer, Eugene R. Fidell of Washington, said the resolution demonstrated
that Captain Yee had prevailed in his fight.
"This represents a long overdue vindication," Mr. Fidell said.
He added, however, that Captain Yee was still owed an apology, and he
suggested that the Army was simply trying to sweep its mistakes under the rug
by asserting that it dropped the charge of mishandling classified documents to
keep information from becoming public.
Mr. Fidell said there was no reason that a trial could not have been
conducted, as the lawyers for both sides had high security clearances and no
information needed to have been publicly exposed.
Captain Yee was arrested on Sept. 10 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville,
Fla., on suspicion of espionage after customs inspectors had found papers in
his luggage that they said were suspicious and might have had classified
information. Officials first suggested his participation in a plot to
infiltrate the base and told his lawyers that they might seek the death
penalty.
But gradually the case fell apart. He was charged with transporting classified
information without a required secure container ? far less serious than
espionage ? and placed in s000000ry confinement in a naval brig for nearly
three months while the military completed its investigation.
When the investigation finished and he was released, the only new charges
against him involved keeping pornography on his government computer and having
an extramarital affair, both violations of the Uniform Code of Military
Justice.
In its statement on Friday night, the military said Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D.
Miller of the Army, commander of the Guantánamo detention center, had decided
to dismiss the charge of mishandling classified information because
of "national security concerns that would arise from the release of the
evidence."
In doing so, General Miller rejected Captain Yee's proposal to undergo a
debriefing with a polygraph examiner on the question of how he might have
dealt with classified material in exchange for an honorable discharge. The
military's statement said Captain Yee was expected to return soon to his home
unit at Fort Lewis, Wash.
At Guantánamo, where more than 600 detainees are being held, Captain Yee
ministered to the detainees, most captured at the end of the Afghanistan
conflict. He arranged for the Muslim call to prayer to be played over the
sound system of the center five times a day and for meals to be served outside
the fasting hours for Ramadan.
Captain Yee graduated from West Point in 1990 and converted to Islam after he
had left the Army. He returned later as a chaplain.
Army officials suggested in December at a hearing at Fort Benning, Ga., that
he had documents relating to the detainees. Since his arrest, the detainees
have not had a Muslim chaplain. Officials say they minister to their own
religious needs.
At the preliminary hearing in December, prosecutors were unsure of whether the
materials in Captain Yee's luggage were even classified. Most of the initial
session was taken up with the charges of adultery as prosecutors brought in a
Navy officer who testified in detail about her intimate relationship with
Captain Yee at Guantánamo.
The case was repeatedly postponed, ostensibly to provide an opportunity to
review the materials to see whether they were classified. But the delays also
provided an opportunity to negotiate a settlement.
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