PETITIONERS' BRIEF IN REPONSE TO THE COURTS AUGUST 15 2005 ORDER

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
06844719
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RIFPUB
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U
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26
Document Creation Date: 
March 9, 2023
Document Release Date: 
September 28, 2020
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Case Number: 
F-2016-02028
Publication Date: 
October 14, 2005
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Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-FIFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 1 of 51 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, and Mark A. Berman as next friend, Petitioners, C/A No. 02:04-2257-26AJ V. Commander C.T. Hanft, U.S.N. Commander, Consolidated Naval Brig, Respondent. PETITIONERS' BRIEF IN RESPONSE TO THE COURT'S AUGUST 15.2005 ORDER Lawrence S. Lustberg Mark A. Berman GIBBONS, DEL DEO, DOLAN, GRIFFINGER & VECCHIONE, A Professional Corporation One Riverfront Plaza Newark, NJ 07102-5496 (973) 596-4500 Jonathan L. Hafetz GIBBONS, DEL DEO, DOLAN, GRIFFINGER & VECCHIONE A Professional Corporation One Pennsylvania Plaza, 37" Fl. New York, NY 10119 (212) 649-4700 Andrew J. Savage, III SAVAGE & SAVAGE, PA. 15 Priolcau Street Post Office Box 1002 Charleston, SC 29402 (843) 720-7470 Attorneys for Petitioner Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 2 Of 51 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF AUTHORITIES iii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 1 PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 ARGUMENT 6 I. THERE IS NO PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR OF THE GOVERNMENT'S ALLEGATIONS 6 A. The Government Has Not Produced Credible Evidence That Petitioner Is An Enemy Combatant 7 B. The Presumption Described in Hamdi Was Limited To The Very Different Circumstances Of That Case, And Greater Procedural Safeguards Are Required Here 12 1. The Private Interest Is Greater Than In Hamdi. 14 2, The Risk Of An Erroneous Deprivation Of Liberty And The Probable Value Of Additional Safeguards Are Greater Here Than In Hamdi 19 3. The Potential Burdens On The Government Described in Hamdi Are Not Present Here And Cannot Justify A Presumption In Its Favor. 21 C. The Government Must Bear the Burden of Proving Its Claim That Petitioner Is An "Enemy Combatant" By At Least Clear And Convincing Evidence. 11. PETITIONER IS ENTITLED TO NOTICE OF THE FACTUAL BASIS FOR HIS CLASSIFICATION AND A FAIR OPPORTUNITY TO REBUT THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM 29 A. The Government Must Provide Sufficient Notice Of The Factual Basis For Petitioner's Classification As An "Enemy Combatant." 29 B. Petitioner Must Have The Opportunity To Obtain Discovery From The Government 31 C. This Court Should Issue An Order Compelling The Government To Preserve The Information Petitioner Seeks to Discover. 35 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 3 of 51 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 4 of 51 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES (continued) Page CASES Page(s) D. Petitioner Has The Right To Confront And Cross-Examine Witnesses In An Evidentiary Hearing Before This Court. 36 Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418 (1979) passim E. Petitioner Has The Right To Present And Compel The Production Of Witnesses In His Favor 39 CONCLUSION 41 Al-Marri v. Bush, 274 F. Supp. 2d 1003 (C.D. III. 2003) 3 A l-Marri v. Hattli, 378 F. Supp. 2d 673 (D.S.C. 2005) 1, 2, 4, 33 Al-Marti v. Rumsfeld, _ U.S. , 125 S. Ct. 34(2004) 3 Al-Marri v. Rumsfeld, 360 F.3d 707 (7'h Cir. 2004) 3 Al-Mani v. Rumsfeld, Civ. .No.2:05-2259 (D.S.C.) (HHF) (RSC), filed August 8, 2005 27 Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564(1972) 26 Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) 32 Bridges v. Wixon, 326 U.S. 135 (1945) 14 Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278(1936) 39 Burlington Northern R. Co. v. Woods, 480 U.S. 1 (1987) 10 California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149(1970) 36 Capricorn Power Co., Inc. v. Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., 220 F.R.D. 429 (W.D. Pa. 2004) 35 Chavez v. Martinez, 538 U.S. 760(2003) 39 Coffin v. United Stales, 156 U.S. 432 (1895) 25 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 5 of 51 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 6 of 51 Crawford v. Washington, In re Temito, 541 U.S. 36(2004) 37 156 F.2d 142 (9th Cir 1946) 16 CrUZ011 V. Director, Missouri Dep't of Health, In re Winship, 497 U.S. 261 (1990) 26 397 U.S. 358 (1970) passim Ex parse Milligan, INS V. St. C:vr, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2 (1866) 14 533 U.S. 289(2001) 24,33 Foucha v. Louisiana, Jenkins v. McKeithen, 504 U.S. 71(1992) 14, 15,25 395 U.S. 411 (1969) 36 Fuentes v. Shevin, Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Comm. v. McGrath, 407 U.S. 67 (1972) 29 341 U.S. 123(1951) 30 Goldberg v. Kelly, Jones v. United States, 397 U.S. 254, 269 (1970) 12,36, 38 463 U.S. 354(1983) 14 Gomez v. United States, Kansas v. Hendricks, 490 U.S. 858 (1989) 12 521 U.S. 346 (1997) 15 Gonzales v. Landon, Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes, 350 U.S. 920 (1955) 24 504 U.S. 1 (1992) 31 ' Greene v. McElroy, Kiareldeen v. Reno, 360 U.S. 474(1959) 30, 37 71 F. Supp. 2d 402 (D.N.J. 1999) 30 Hadjimehdigholi v. INS, Kwong Hai Chew v. Cokling, 49 F.36 642 (10th Cir. 1995) 38 344 U.S. 590 (1953) 38,40 Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Leland v. Oregon, 243 F. Supp. 2d 527 (E.D. Va. 2002) 29 343 U.S. 790 (1952) 24 Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Loliscio v. Goord, 542 U.S. 507,124 S. CI. 2633 (2004) passim 263 F.3d 178 (2d Cir. 2001) 7 Harris v. Nelson, Malinski v. New York, 394 U.S. 286 (1969) 31,32 324 U.S. 401 (1945) 40 Haynes v. Washington, Mathews v. Eldridge, 373 U.S. 503 (1963) 11 424 U.S. 319 (1976) 12, 13, 14, 30 In re Gault, Miller v. Fenton, 387 U.S. 1 (1967) 26 474 U.S. 104 (1985) 39 In re Guantanamo Detainee Cases, Montana v. Egelhoff, 355 F. Supp. 2d 443 (D.D.C. 2005) 39 518 U.S. 37(1996) 8 In re Oliver, Padilla v. Hanft, 333 U.S. 257(1948) 37 F.3d _,2005 WL 2175946(4" Cir. Sept. 9,2005) 16 - iv- Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 7 of 51 Pal/ca v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319(1937) Plaster v. United States, 720 F.2d 340 (4th Cir. 1983) 7 Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400(1965) Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45(1932) Pueblo of Laguna v. United States, 60 Fed. CL 133 (2004) 35 Rafeedie V. INS, 880 F.2d 506 (D.0 Cir. 1989) 30 Schneiderman v. United States, 320 U.S. 118(1943) 24 Selma, R. & D. R. Co. v. United States, 139 U.S. 560(1891) 24 Smith v. Brewer, 444 F. Sapp. 482 (S.D. Iowa), red 577 F.2d 466 (8th Cir. 1978) 7 Tippet: v. Maryland, 436 F.2d 1153 (41h Cir. 1971) 25 Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963) 31 United States v. Anderson, 51 Mi. 145 (C.A.A.F. 1999) 38 United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667 (1985) 33 United States v. Bumpass, 60 F.3d 1099 (4th Cir. 1995) 7 United States v. Davis, 19 U.S.C.M.A. 217 (M.C.A. 1970) 38 United Slates v. Gasca-Kraft, 522 F.2d 149 (9th Cir. 1975) 38 United States v. Giglio, 405 U.S. 150 (1972) 33 vi- 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 8 of 51 United States v. Hayman, 36 342 U.S. 205 (1952) 30 United States v. Jauregui, 314 F.3d 961 (8th Cir. 2003) 38,40 United States v. Moussaoui, 36, 38 382 F.3d 453 (4th Cir. 2004) 40 United States v. Phillip Morris USA, Inc., 40 327 F. Supp. 2d 21 (D.D.C. 2004) 35 United States v. Rahman, 189 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 1999) 27 United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739 (1987) 15, 25, 37, 40 United States v. Sippel, 4 U.S.C.M.A. 50 (M.C.A. 1954) 38 United States v. White, 366 F.3d 291 (41b Cir. 2004) 8, 12 United States v. Yousef, 327 F.3d 56 (2d. Cir. 2003) Valdez v. Cockrell, 274 F.3d 941 (5th Cir. 2001) 32 Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14(1967) 40 Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. 594 (1994) 7,8 Wood/It, v. INS, 385 U.S. 276 (1966) 24,26 Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001) 15 STATUTES 18 U.S.C. � 2340A(a) 34 28 U.S.C. � 1651 31 28 U.S.C. � 2072 10 - vu - Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 9 of 51 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 10 of 51 28 U.S.C. � 2073 10 Douglas Jai & David Johnston, "White House Fought New Curbs on Interrogations, 28 U.S.C. � 2074 10 Officials Say," N.Y. Times, at Al (Jan. 13, 2005) 9 28 U.S.C. � 2241(c)(5) ao Transcript of Oral Argument, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, No. 03-6696 (Sup. CL), 2004 WL 1066082 (Apr. 28, 2004) 18 28 U.S.C. � 2243 32 William Winthrop, 28 U.S.C. � 2246 11,32 MMus?", Law and Precedents (rev. 2d cd. 1920) 16 28 U.S.C. � 2255 30 Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, 115 Stat. 224 (Sept. 18, 2001) 4 RULES & GUIDELINES Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees, and Other Detainees, Army Regulation 190-8 (1997) 20 Fed. R. Evid. 1101(e) 7 Fed. R. Evid. 802 7 Fed. R. Evid. 803(1) 11 Fed. R. Evid. 807.. 9,11 OTHER AUTHORITI ES Dep't of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, "Memorandum for James B. Comey, Deputy Attorney General," Dee. 30,2004,01 38 9 John Henry Wigmorc, Evidence in Trials at Common Law (1981 cd.) 25 Amnesty Intl, United States of America: Human dignity denied; Torture and accountability in the 'war on terror' (Oct. 27, 2004), at 9 Brief for the Respondents, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 124 S. Ct. 2633 (2004) (No. 03-6696) 22 Department of Defense, Report on the Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, Final Report to Congress (Apr. 1992) 20,34 - viii - - ix- Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 1 2:04-ev-02257-HFF-FISC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 11 of 51 PRELIMINARY STATEMENT Since thc President designated him an "enemy combatant" over two years ago, Petitioner Ali Salch Kahlah al-Marri has been held in solitary confinement in a Navy brig without charge and without a hearing. Indeed, in has not even been afforded the process provided to those individuals captured by the military outside the United States and charged before military commissions or detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In determining what process Mr. al-Marri is now due, and how the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 124 S. Cl. 2633 (2004), bears on that question, a few basic points are worth repeating. On June 23, 2003, when President Bush signed the order declaring him an "enemy combatant," Mr. al-Marri was awaiting trial on criminal charges in a federal district court. As a criminal defendant, Mr. al-Marri was entitled to the same fundamental protections against unlawful imprisonment that this Country has always afforded individuals accused of wrongdoing, no matter how serious the offense or how dangerous the offender, during times of war and during times of peace. These protections have been afforded to suspected terrorists, both before and after September 11, 2001, including, for example, to Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged "twentieth hijacker." Yet, on June 23, 2003, the President sought to strip Mr. al-Marri of these protections by executive fiat, that is, by declaring him an "enemy combatant." This Court, assuming the truth of the government's factual allegations, has previously upheld the President's legal authority to detain Mr. al-Marri. Al-Marri v. Hanfi, 378 F. Supp. 2d 673 (D.S.C. 2005). It now must determine what process Mr. al-Marri is due to challenge the veracity of those allegations. The government, for its part, continues to assert a degree of executive power and immunity from meaningful judicial review that defies all precedent. It 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 12 of 51 argues that the burden is on Mr. al-Marri to refute a triple hearsay declaration by a Department of Defense functionary, which includes allegations that Mr. al-Marri has not been permitted to see, and which is based on statements that may have been obtained through torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, or other circumstances that call the veracity of the information into question. Even if the President has the legal authority to hold individuals arrested in the United States as "enemy combatants," however, it would mock due process to allow the government to thus deny Mr. al-Marri a meaningful opportunity to challenge the factual basis for his indefinite detention. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On December 12,2001, Mr. al-Marri was arrested by FBI agents at his home in Peoria, Illinois, at the direction of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York as a material witness in the investigation of the September II, 2001, terrorist attacks, and detained in a civilian jail in New York City. Al-Marri v. limit, 378 F. Supp. 2d at 674. In February 2002, Mr. al�Marri was charged by the federal government in a one-count indictment, returned in the Southern District of New York, alleging possession of unauthorized or counterfeit credit-card numbers. Id. Almost one year later, he was charged in a second, six-count indictment with two counts of making a false statement to the FBI; three counts of making a false statement in a bank application; and one count of using a means of identification of another person for the purpose of influencing the action of a federally insured financial institution. Id. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Mr. al-Marri's motion to dismiss the indictment on venue grounds in May 2003; Mr. al-Marri was then promptly re- indicted in the Central District of Illinois on the same seven counts. Id. On June 23, 2003, shortly before trial and, in particular, while Mr. al-Marri's motion to suppress illegally seized evidence was pending, the President declared Mr. al-Marri an "enemy 2 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 13 of 51 combatant" and transferred him to the Navy brig in South Carolina. There, he was held incommunicado for approximately 17 months and repeatedly interrogated under coercive conditions; there he remains confined today, still subject to severe restrictions. On July 8, 2003, Counsel filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on Mr. al-Marri's behalf in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois to challenge his detention. The district court dismissed the petition on venue grounds, Al-Morn i v. Bush, 274 F. Supp. 2d 1003 (C.D. 2003), and the court of appeals affirmed, A I-Marri v. Rum*Id, 360 F.3d 707 (7th Cir. 2004). On October 4, 2004, the Supreme Court denied certiorari. Al-Marri v. Rurnsfeld, _U.S. 125 S. Ct. 34 (2004). On July 8, 2004, Counsel filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on Mr. al-Marri's behalf in this Court, again challenging his detention as an "enemy combatant." On or around September 9, 2004, the government filed an Answer to the Ibtition, which relied upon the unclassified and classified declarations of Jeffrey N. Rapp, Director for the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism.' The Rapp Itclarations remain the sole factual basis provided by the government to support the President's classification of Mr. al-Marri as an "enemy combatant" On October 14, 2004, Counsel was granted access to Mr. al-Marri for the first time since he was declared an "enemy combatant" seventeen months before. On February 11, 2005, Mr. al-Marri submitted a Reply (or Traverse) again denying that he is an "enemy combatant" and re-asserting that he is an innocent civilian. Mr. al-Marri argued that the President had no authority to detain him as an "enemy combatant" as a matter of law and, alternatively, that he was entitled to a hearing consistent with the requirements of due process. Mr. Rapp's unclassified declaration will be referred to as the 'unclassified Rapp Declaration"; his classified declaration will be referred to as the "classified Rapp Declaration"; and the two declarations will be referred to jointly as the "Rapp Declarations." 3 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 14 of 51 On March 2, 2005, frillowing this Court's decision in the Padilla case, Mr. al-Marri moved for summary judgment on the ground that the President lacked legal authority to detain him as an "enemy combatant" On July 8, 2005, this Court denied that motion, holding that the President could detain Mr. al-Marri pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, 115 Stat. 224 (Sept. 18, 2001) ("AUMF"), assuming that all the facts asserted by the government were true. Al-Mann! v. Han!!, 378 F. Supp. 2d at 680. Specifically, the Court determined that the AUMF authorized Mr. al-Marri's detention based upon the allegation that he is an al Qacda operative who entered the United States to commit hostile and war-like acts. Id. at 680. The Court also held, however, that its decision "does not close the door of this Court. to Petitioner," and that Mr. al-Mani has a constitutional right to challenge the government's factual assertions. Id. at 681-82. On August 15, 2005, the Honorable Robert S. Carr, United States Magistrate Judge, held a status conference to discuss further proceedings in this case in which Mr. al-Marri could challenge the government's factual allegations. At the conclusion of the conference, Judge Carr requested that the panics brief the following issues: (1) Is the presumption in favor of the government's evidence discussed by the Supreme Court in Hamdi v. Runry'eld applicable here?; and (2) If this presumption is applicable, what opportunity must Mr. al-Marri be given to rebut it? Mr. al-Marri respectfully requests that the Court accept this brief in response to the questions it posed at the status conference and as Mr. al-Marri's formal request for leave to seek discovery. For the reasons set forth below, any presumption in favor of the government's evidence that might apply under circumstances like the Hamdi case does not apply to Mr. al- Marri, and, even if such an initial presumption docs apply, notwithstanding the very significant 4 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 15 of 51 differences between this case and Hamdi, Mr. al-Mani must still be given a fair opportunity to rebut the government's claims in an evidentiary hearing before this Court. This fair opportunity must include, at a minimum, meaningful notice of the government's factual allegations, including the allegations in the classified Rapp Declaration; the opportunity to obtain discovery of the sources of information on which those allegations arc based and of any exculpatory information; the exclusion of hearsay statements that do not satisfy the requirements of the Federal Rules of Evidence or due process; the opportunity to confront the government's evidence and any adverse witnesses at a hearing; and the opportunity to compel the production of favorable witnesses. 5 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 16 of 51 ARGUMENT I. THERE IS NO PRESUMPTION IN FAVOR OF THE GOVERNMENT'S ALLEGATIONS. In Hamdi, a plurality of the Supreme Court held that the petitioner was entitled to "notice of the factual basis for his classification [as an "enemy combatant"], and a fair opportunity to rebut the Government's factual assertions before a neutral decisionmaker." 124 S. Ct. at 2648. The plurality further suggested in diera that, in a case like Hamdi's, the "Constitution would not be offended by a presumption in favor of the government's evidence, so long as that presumption remained a rebuttable one and fair opportunity for rebuttal were provided." Id. at 2649. In such a case, "once the Government puts forth credible evidence that the habeas petitioner meets the enemy-combatant criteria, the onus could shift to the petitioner to rebut that evidence with more persuasive evidence that he falls outside the criteria." Id. The Hamdi plurality thus did not hold that there is necessarily a presumption in favor of the government's evidence that a petitioner is an "enemy combatant" but, rather, only that there could be such a presumption in appropriate circumstances and where the government has come forward with credible evidence. No such presumption is appropriate in this ease, for three reasons. First, the government has failed to produce "credible evidence" that Mr. al-Marri is an "enemy combatant," as Hamdi requires, 124 S. Ct. at 2649. Instead, it relies upon an inadmissible triple hearsay declaration from a Department of Defense functionary with no personal knowledge of any of the asserted facts. Second, the presumption discussed in Hamdi was rooted in the narrow circumstances of that case -- an armed enemy soldier "captured in a foreign combat zone," 124 S. Cl. at 2543 (emphasis in original); see also id. at 2639 (defining "ercmy combatant"); id. at 2637 (describing Hamdi's capture). Hamdi does not support such a presumption under the very different circumstances presented here -- the domestic arrest by 6 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 17 of 51 civilian law enforcement agents and subsequent criminal prosecution of an individual who is not alleged to have engaged in armed combat against the United States on a foreign battlefield or elsewhere. Third, the Constitution requires that the government bear the burden of proof throughout this proceeding and that it establish its claim that Mr. al-Marri is an "enemy combatant" by at least clear and convincing evidence. A. The Government Has Not Produced Credible Evidence That Petitioner Is An Enemy Combatant. There can be no presumption in favor of the government because it has failed to produce "credible evidence that [Mr. al-Marri] meets the enemy-combatant criteria." Hamdi, 124 S. Ct. at 2649 (emphasis added). The Rapp Declarations cannot give rise to such a presumption. Specifically, the triple hearsay declarations of a Department of Defense functionary, who has no personal knowledge of any asserted facts, do not constitute evidence, let alone credible evidence, because they do not satisfy the requirements of the Federal Rules of Evidence or due process. By operation of law, the Federal Rules of Evidence apply to habeas corpus proceedings. Fed. R. Evid. 1101(e); see, e.g., Loliscio v. Goord, 263 F.3d 178, 186 (2d Cir. 2001); Plaster v. United States, 720 F.2d 340, 349 (414 Cir. 1983) (citing government's argument); Smith v. Brewer, 444 F. Supp. 482, 486 (S.D. Iowa), aff'd 577 F.2d 466 (8th Cir. 1978). Under the Federal Rules or Evidence, hearsay is inadmissible unless it falls within an established exception. Fed. R. Evid. 802 ("Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by these rules or by other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority or by Act of Congress."); see also United States v. Bumpass, 60 F.3d 1099, 1101 (4th Cir. 1995) ("Federal Rule of Evidence 802 provides that hearsay is not admissible into evidence except as provided by law...."). The rule against hearsay "is premised on the theory that out-of-court statements arc subject to particular hazards." Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. 594, 598 (1994); see also Montana v. 7 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 18 of 51 Egelhoff 518 U.S. 37, 42 (1996) ("Hearsay rules ... prohibit the introduction of testimony which, though unquestionably relevant, is deemed insufficiently reliable."). The rule against hearsay thus serves a critical function in ensuring the reliability of evidence: The declarant might be lying; he might have misperceived the events which he relates; he might have faulty memory; his words might be misunderstood or taken out of context by the listener. And the ways in which these dangers are minimized for in-court statements -- the oath, the witness' awareness of the gravity of the proceedings, the jury's ability to observe the witness' demeanor, and, most importantly, the right of the opponent to cross-examine -- arc generally absent for things said out of court. Williamson, 512 U.S. at 598. This case underscores the importance of these safeguards. Mr. Rapp has no personal knowledge of any asserted facts and his declaration consists of not one, but two levels of hearsay. The unclassified Rapp Declaration appears to rely on the hearsay statements of unidentified government officials, while the classified Rapp Declaration appears to rely additionally on the hearsay statements of two high- level al Qacda suspects, provided to government interrogators under unknown circumstances while they were in U.S. custody at an undisclosed location. The in-court testimony of those individuals would clearly constitute appropriate, admissible, and, indeed, 'the most reliable available evidence" within the meaning of Hamdi, 124 S. Ct. at 2649; yet, the government has failed even to explain, much less to demonstrate persuasively, why it cannot (and why it should not be required to) produce those individuals in a hearing before this Court as required by the Federal Rules of Evidence. Further, the statements of the two al Qaeda suspects may, according to press and other published reports, be the product of multiple interrogations under coercive condkions and possibly even torture, including a technique known as water-boarding, in which a subject is made to believe he might be drowned. See, e.g., Douglas Jehl & David Johnston, "White House Fought New Curbs on Interrogations, Officials Say," N.Y. Times, at Al (Jan. 13,2005); Amnesty Intl, United States of 8 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 Approved for Release: 2020/09/23 C06844719 2:04-cv-02257-HFF-RSC Date Filed 10/14/2005 Entry Number 38 Page 19 of 51 America: Human dignity denied; Torture and accountability in the 'war on terror 114 (Oct. 27, 2004), at