Chaplain's hearing delayed

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Defense abruptly postponed a preliminary hearing for the former Guantanamo Bay Navy Base Muslim chaplain James "Yousef" Yee, who is charged with mishandling classified documents, after the military discovered that it had mistakenly released a classified document to Yee's defense attorney.

The attorney, Eugene Fidell, said he had already boarded his flight in Washington yesterday afternoon to fly down to the hearing -- which had been scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. today at Fort Benning, Ga. -- when his cellphone rang. It was Lieutenant Colonel Michael Mulligan, the prosecutor in the case, telling him that a security issue had come up and that he should get off the plane.

Among documents from Yee's file that the military released to Fidell last week were pages from the chaplain's diary, which had been classified and should not have been given to him.

The two most serious charges against Yee pertain to his alleged failure to follow a general order on handling of classified documents -- for taking some home and for transporting them without proper covers.

"One of their people -- an attorney, probably -- has violated the same general order that my client allegedly has," Fidell said. "I don't know how my client can be expected to know the rules if the Defense Department doesn't know them."

Word from the military about precisely what had happened was vague last night. A spokesman for the US Southern Command, which oversees Guantanamo Bay, said he knew only that the hearing had been postponed and referred questions to the public affairs office at Fort Benning.

Monica Manganero, Fort Benning's public affairs officer, referred questions back to the Southern Command.

"I got word from our [military lawyer] that they'd had a conference call and that the decision had been made down in Guantanamo to postpone it until next Monday," Manganero said. "That's all I know."

The development adds to the confusion surrounding the high-profile case against Yee, who was arrested on Sept. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla., after he got off a plane from the base. He was taken to a brig in Charleston, S.C., where he spent 76 days in custody, much of it in maximum security lockup alongside "enemy combatants."

Initial reports incorrectly suggested he had been charged with treasonous crimes or was part of a spy ring at Guantanamo. Citing anonymous government sources, the reports created the perception -- much discussed on 24-hour news television -- that Yee was an enemy agent.

However, when Yee was charged in October, it was for comparatively minor charges of disobeying an order. After he was released last week, four non-national security charges were added related to allegedly making a false statement, downloading pornography onto his government computer, and adultery. Yee's defenders said his reputation has been destroyed.

Yee is one of four men connected to the intelligence operation at the base who have faced charges in recent months. Most recently, the Southern Command announced last weekend two charges against Army Colonel Jackie Farr, for allegedly improperly transporting classified material and later making a false statement.

"There's a blizzard of charge sheets coming out of Guantanamo Bay," Fidell said. "Maybe there will be another one -- or maybe they'll call it off, which is what they should do."