Gary D. Brown

Gary D. Brown
Gary D. Brown
	Official portrait of Colonel Gary D. Brown, 2009.
Nationality	USA
Occupation	lawyer, USAF officer
Known for	whistleblower on government waste at Guantanamo

Colonel Gary D. Brown is an American lawyer and former officer in the United States Air Force.[1][2]

Academic career

Academic career[3]
year	degree	institution
1984	B.Sc.	University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Missouri
1987	J.D.	University of Nebraska College of Law, Lincoln, Nebraska
1988	LL.M.	Cambridge University, England
1994		Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
2000		Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
2005		Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

Guantanamo military commission

In 2017 Brown was appointed the legal advisor to a Guantanamo military commission's newly appointed Convening authority, Harvey Rishikof.[4]

Rishikof and Brown's appointments were terminated in early 2018.[2][4][5] Observers commented that their termination suggested a disagreement between the pair and their superiors at the Pentagon.

In July 2020 Brown told National Public Radio that he and Rishikof had been negotiating plea agreements with the lawyers of the men facing charges.[2] They'd take the death penalty off the table, if the suspects agreed to plead guilty and accept a sentence of life imprisonment.

Whistleblower

In 2019 Brown formally filed a whistleblower report alleging substantial government waste, at Guantanamo.[6][7][8] According to Brown, operating costs at Guantanamo had been $6 billion.

References

Stephen Szrom (2018-03-23). "Summary: Declarations Regarding the Removal of Military Commission Convening Authority Rishikof". Lawfare. Rishikof and Brown expressed concern about the simultaneous removal of the convening authority and legal adviser. They also objected to the possible simultaneous appointment of two convening authorities as, according to the declaration, the Pentagon appointed the acting convening authority, Jim Coyne, before informing Rishikof of his removal.`
Sacha Pfeiffer (2019-09-11). "Guantánamo Has Cost Billions; Whistleblower Alleges 'Gross' Waste". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-27. Retired Air Force Col. Gary Brown also claims that he and the former head of the military court were fired because they were negotiating a controversial cost-saving proposal with defense lawyers: allow Guantánamo prisoners — including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison rather than face the death penalty. Such plea deals, Brown says, 'would stop wasting resources.'
"Biography: Colonel Gary D. Brown" (PDF). University of Berkeley. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
Josh Gerstein (2018-03-22). "Mattis: Aerial photo request triggered firing of Gitmo tribunal overseer". Politico. Retrieved 2020-07-27. Rishikof and Brown said in a declaration filed with a military judge earlier this week that they were not advised of any concerns about their performance before they were abruptly fired last month.
Carol Rosenberg (2018-05-28). "Former Navy Judge Named to Oversee Guantánamo Military Court". The New York Times. Washington, DC. p. A6. Retrieved 2020-07-27. Mr. Rishikof and his legal adviser, Gary Brown, said in a joint affidavit that they had not been warned in advance that senior Pentagon officials were unhappy with their performances but were aware that they had made some unpopular and controversial decisions, including discussing guilty pleas in the two capital cases in exchange for life in prison rather than execution.
Sachar Pfeiffer (2019-09-11). "Whistleblower Cites 'Waste Of Funds' At Guantánamo Court And Prison". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-27. NPR has learned that a former top attorney at the military court there has filed a federal whistleblower complaint alleging gross waste of funds and gross mismanagement.
Sacha Pfeiffer (2019-11-14). "A Legacy Of Torture Is Preventing Trials At Guantánamo". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
Paul Szoldra (2019-09-17). [2019-09-17 "Guantanamo Bay only has 40 prisoners left, and they cost the US more than a half-billion dollars a year"] Check |url= value (help). Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-07-27. One part of the cost equation comes from government prosecutors, who have been pursuing death penalty convictions for some, which critics say is a waste of money and time given that the evidence in many cases is "tainted by torture." And, as Brown further argues, even if they get a conviction, most of those cases will result in lengthy appeals that will cost billions more. (Brown pushed for settlement negotiations instead.)

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[lawfare2018-03-23-1] Stephen Szrom (2018-03-23). "Summary: Declarations Regarding the Removal of Military Commission Convening Authority Rishikof". Lawfare. Rishikof and Brown expressed concern about the simultaneous removal of the convening authority and legal adviser. They also objected to the possible simultaneous appointment of two convening authorities as, according to the declaration, the Pentagon appointed the acting convening authority, Jim Coyne, before informing Rishikof of his removal.`

[npr2019-09-11-2] Sacha Pfeiffer (2019-09-11). "Guantánamo Has Cost Billions; Whistleblower Alleges 'Gross' Waste". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-27. Retired Air Force Col. Gary Brown also claims that he and the former head of the military court were fired because they were negotiating a controversial cost-saving proposal with defense lawyers: allow Guantánamo prisoners — including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison rather than face the death penalty. Such plea deals, Brown says, 'would stop wasting resources.'

[OffBio2009BrownUsaf-3] "Biography: Colonel Gary D. Brown" (PDF). University of Berkeley. Retrieved 2020-07-27.

[politico2018-03-22-4] Josh Gerstein (2018-03-22). "Mattis: Aerial photo request triggered firing of Gitmo tribunal overseer". Politico. Retrieved 2020-07-27. Rishikof and Brown said in a declaration filed with a military judge earlier this week that they were not advised of any concerns about their performance before they were abruptly fired last month.

[nytimes2018-02-10-5] Carol Rosenberg (2018-05-28). "Former Navy Judge Named to Oversee Guantánamo Military Court". The New York Times. Washington, DC. p. A6. Retrieved 2020-07-27. Mr. Rishikof and his legal adviser, Gary Brown, said in a joint affidavit that they had not been warned in advance that senior Pentagon officials were unhappy with their performances but were aware that they had made some unpopular and controversial decisions, including discussing guilty pleas in the two capital cases in exchange for life in prison rather than execution.

[npr2019-09-11a-6] Sachar Pfeiffer (2019-09-11). "Whistleblower Cites 'Waste Of Funds' At Guantánamo Court And Prison". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-27. NPR has learned that a former top attorney at the military court there has filed a federal whistleblower complaint alleging gross waste of funds and gross mismanagement.

[npr2019-09-14-7] Sacha Pfeiffer (2019-11-14). "A Legacy Of Torture Is Preventing Trials At Guantánamo". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-07-27.

[Binsider2019-09-17-8] Paul Szoldra (2019-09-17). [2019-09-17 "Guantanamo Bay only has 40 prisoners left, and they cost the US more than a half-billion dollars a year"] Check |url= value (help). Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-07-27. One part of the cost equation comes from government prosecutors, who have been pursuing death penalty convictions for some, which critics say is a waste of money and time given that the evidence in many cases is "tainted by torture." And, as Brown further argues, even if they get a conviction, most of those cases will result in lengthy appeals that will cost billions more. (Brown pushed for settlement negotiations instead.)