U.S. government urges judge to begin Guantanamo trial

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department urged a federal judge in Washington to allow the first Guantanamo Bay war crimes trial to begin next week in a case involving Osama bin Laden's former driver.

In court documents made available on Tuesday, the department opposed the request by attorneys for Salim Hamdan to stop his trial, which is scheduled to begin on July 21, while he challenges the military tribunal system.

Hamdan, the driver for al Qaeda leader bin Laden in Afghanistan, would be the first prisoner tried in the U.S. war crimes court at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. About 265 detainees are at the base, which was set up in January 2002 to hold terrorism suspects captured after the September 11 attacks.

Hamdan's "claim of a right not to stand trial is wholly insufficient" and should be denied, department lawyers said in the 64-page filing with U.S. District Judge James Robertson.

They said Hamdan's motion was like "seeking a continuance on the eve of trial," and the expenditure of significant government resources to begin the trial next week would be wasted if the judge halts the proceedings.

Hamdan's attorneys said a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month made clear the detainees are entitled to fundamental constitutional rights, and they challenged the legality of the military tribunal system.

Department lawyers said Hamdan's challenge cannot be brought until after his Guantanamo trial has been completed.

Hamdan's lawyers challenged the initial military tribunal system that President George W. Bush created after the September 11 attacks. The Supreme Court ruled for Hamdan and struck down that system in 2006. Bush responded by getting the Republican-led Congress in 2006 to adopt legislation that established the current system.

Department lawyers said that under the 2006 law the judge lacks jurisdiction to hear Hamdan's appeal now.

They said the law requires that Hamdan, if convicted, appeal to a military review court, then to a U.S. appeals court in Washington and finally to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Even if the judge has jurisdiction over Hamdan's appeal, he is unlikely to succeed because his constitutional challenges to the military tribunals have no merit, department lawyers said.

Hamdan "will not be harmed by allowing his criminal proceedings to move forward, but the harm to the United States and public interest would be significant," they said.

The judge has scheduled a hearing in the case on Thursday.

(Editing by David Wiessler and Randall Mikkelsen)