WOW, JUST WOW...........

“The president’s executive order you feel trumps the Supreme Court’s order?” the judge asked Gilligan.


“No, we don’t,” Gilligan replied. He said the delays were simply a matter of logistics. “It’s an unavoidable reality when you’re talking about a database with 2 million pages of documents. ... It can’t be done quickly.”


In court papers, the government said full searches would actually involve multiple databases run by a variety of agencies.


Hogan called the government’s arguments “exaggerated” and said its estimates were mere “generalities.” He accused the government of setting up a “Hobson’s choice” where detainees — some of whom have been held without charge for more than seven years — could have their cases heard immediately or could wait as long as another year for evidence that might undermine the government’s case to hold them.


“We’ve seen clients lose heart and in some cases lose their minds,” attorney Dan Malone of Dechert LLP said, arguing on behalf of the detainees against the government’s plan. “It’s not efficient. It’s not just.”


Malone said the government’s claims that the orders required task force personnel to sift through the information themselves were wrong.


Hogan’s ruling applied to about 50 cases being considered by seven federal judges in Washington. However, he said the government was free to seek relief from the individual judges. About 240 prisoners remain at Guantanamo and the vast majority have court challenges pending.


Obama said last month that about 50 detainees have been cleared for release or transfer to other countries, though finding countries willing to accept them has proven difficult.


The judge also chastised the Justice Department for “rather egregiously” failing to comply with court rules requiring consultation with the opposing parties.

A spokesman said Tuesday night that the department was reviewing Hogan’s ruling.