Below is a letter we sent to the Office of Military Commissions earlier today:

Dear Office of Military Commissions:

This is Gabe Roth and Cortez Collins of Fix the Court, a nonpartisan judicial transparency organization, writing to request expanded public access to the open and unclassified portions of United States v. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and similarly significant military commission proceedings.

The KSM trial concerns one of the most consequential events in modern American history. Yet meaningful access remains largely limited to individuals who can travel to Guantanamo Bay or a designated viewing location.

We recognize the legitimate national security concerns surrounding military commissions. Our request does not seek access to classified information or proceedings properly closed by a military judge. Rather, we ask the Department of Defense to provide live audio, audio on a brief delay or another suitable form of contemporaneous remote access for portions of these proceedings, including pre-trial hearings, that are already technically open to some of the public.

Streaming audio on a brief delay, for example, would provide a measured approach. It would allow victims and their families, journalists, researchers and the broader public to follow proceedings without requiring travel while maintaining safeguards for classified and sensitive information.

The importance of this request extends beyond the KSM case. Establishing a workable remote-access policy for these proceedings could provide a framework for future military commissions.

We therefore respectfully ask OMC and DOD to consider expanded remote access to the KSM proceedings and to identify any legal, technological or security barriers preventing it. If current rules do not permit such access, we encourage the Department to identify what regulatory or legislative changes would be necessary.

Proceedings designated as public should, to the greatest extent practicable, be meaningfully accessible to the public. Americans should not have to travel to Guantanamo Bay or a military installation to contemporaneously follow a case of historic significance.

Thank you for your consideration. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this request with OMC officials.

Sincerely,
Gabe Roth
Executive Director
Fix the Court

Cortez Collins
Law Clerk
Fix the Court