Former chief prosecutor for Guantanamo to discuss lawsuit against Library of Congress at June 17 newsmaker

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Jun 14, 2016, 02:09 ET

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for the Guantánamo military commissions, who later spoke out publicly against the treatment of inmates imprisoned there, will address a National Press Club Newsmaker news conference at 10 a.m. Friday, June 17, in the Zenger Room.

Davis recently settled a lawsuit against the Library of Congress, which had fired him for writing newspaper opinion pieces criticizing the Obama administration's decision to resume use of the military commissions system.

Davis was terminated from his position as an assistant director of the Congressional Research Service in 2009 after his op-ed and letter to the editor were published by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Under the settlement, he will receive $100,000 and a correction of his employment record to show that he was not terminated for cause.

"I spent 25 years in the military defending the Constitution, only to be told by the library that it didn't apply to my personal speech," Davis said. "I had always assumed the federal government respected the first amendment, but instead I had to rely on the ACLU to ensure the free speech rights I defended were not rendered meaningless. Injustice at Guantánamo Bay is every bit as relevant today as it was more than six years ago when I spoke out about it. Guantánamo remains too important a conversation about who we are as Americans to let the federal government try and silence the debate."

The National Press Club is located on the 13^th Floor of the National Press Building, 529 14^th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20045.

As with all Newsmaker events, this news conference is open to credentialed media and Press Club members, free of charge. No advance registration is required.

Contact newsmaker event host Molly McCluskey, 202-684-3445, [email protected]

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SOURCE National Press Club