Judge Bars Pentagon Official From Guantanamo Prosecution

In a rebuke, a military judge has disqualified a key Pentagon general from any role overseeing the Guantánamo trial of Osama bin Laden's driver, saying he doubted the general's impartiality in the case.

The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, ordered the Pentagon's general counsel to assign a new official to oversee the trial in place of Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas W.Hartmann, the Defense Department's legal adviser for military commissions.

The decision is a key one. In addition to overseeing the prosecution, Hartmann also had the power to decide how much would be spent on defense experts, travel and staff that might be need by Hamdan's four-attorney legal team, including a staff psychiatrist.