Nine top political appointees at the Justice Department previously worked as lawyers or advocates for "enemy combatants" confined at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prompting new questions from Congress and conservative critics about the integrity of the administration's handling of detainees.
The Justice Department insists that the officials have not involved themselves in matters dealing with enemy combatants. But the department has revealed the names of only two of the nine appointees, making it difficult to independently assess the claim. And one of the named officials -- Jennifer Daskal, a lawyer in the national security division -- sits on a task force weighing the future of Guantanamo prisoners. She is a former senior counsel for Human Rights Watch, which worked on behalf of ensuring constitutional rights for detainees during the George W. Bush presidency.
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