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Diaz’s attorney can’t make hearing

A senior Navy lawyer charged with mishandling classified information while assigned to detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba, will be arraigned Wednesday at Norfolk Naval Station, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic said.

But the civilian attorney for Lt. Cmdr. Matthew M. Diaz, Victor Kelley of Birmingham, Ala., said that he only found out Tuesday that the hearing was scheduled and won’t be able to get to Norfolk in time. So while the charges will be read, Diaz’s detailed military counsel will ask the military judge to reserve pleas and motions until a date can be set when he can appear, Kelley said.

If the requests are granted, Kelley said, “It’s going to be a perfunctory hearing.” Kelley was reached at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he’s working on a separate case.

The arraignment is the next step toward the general court-martial ordered earlier this month by region commander Rear Adm. Rick Ruehe, who made the determination after reviewing evidence gathered by prosecutors against Diaz.

Diaz waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Dec. 19.

If that Article 32 hearing had been held, an investigating officer would have prepared a report based on presentations by both the prosecution and defense before giving Ruehe a recommendation for or against court-martial.

Diaz waived his right to a hearing after the key prosecution and defense witness – the original classification review authority for the material allegedly compromised – was unable to appear at a scheduled Dec. 19 hearing due to operational commitments A trial date has not yet been set.

Diaz, 41, is charged with four counts of “knowingly and willfully printing and classified secret information relative to national defense to a person not entitled to receive such information, and knowingly removing such materials without authority and with intent to retain such materials at an unknown location,” according to charges sheets supplied by the region.

The information was sent via first-class mail, according to the region, and the recipient belonged to an unauthorized domestic non-governmental organization. The region said that person, who it would not identify, then notified Navy officials, according to the Associated Press.

Diaz also is charged with three counts of failing to obey an order or regulation, and one count of conduct unbecoming an officer.

The secret document allegedly contained names and other identifying information of detainees being held at the base’s detention facility, Mid-Atlantic Region previously announced. The name of the non-governmental group was to have been disclosed during the hearing, spokesman Kevin Copeland had said.

If convicted on all charges, Diaz would face a maximum penalty of forfeiture of all pay and allowances, dismissal from the Navy and 36½ years in prison.

Kelley declined to discuss the charges in detail Tuesday, saying he didn’t want to second-guess Ruehe. But, he said, “It clearly is not an espionage case.” Kelley said he still hadn’t received all the government’s evidence against Diaz through the discovery process, and added that he has asked the Navy to fund a fact-finding trip to Guantanamo Bay.

The alleged misconduct took place while Diaz was assigned as the deputy staff judge advocate for Joint Task Force GTMO at Guantanamo Bay between December 2004, and February 2005, Mid-Atlantic Region said. As such, he was the second-highest legal officer on the joint task force, which oversees all custody, interrogation and investigation of enemy combatants detained during the global war on terrorism, according to Cmdr. Robert Durand, the task force spokesman.

Diaz is not incarcerated and continues to perform administrative duties at the Region Legal Service Office in Jacksonville, Fla.