Covington Partner Reveals Resignation After Revealing Press Conference

Guantanamo/Detainees

Covington Partner Reveals Resignation After Revealing Press Conference

Posted Jul 21, 2008, 06:12 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A partner at Covington & Burling who appeared at a press conference in his underwear has resigned from the law firm.

David Remes took off his pants at a news conference in Yemen to illustrate the humiliating strip searches endured by his Guantanamo Bay clients. Remes represents 15 Yemeni detainees.

Remes said in a statement that he had informed the law firm of his intent to resign in May—which is well before the press conference. The resignation takes effect at the end of this month, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. “My departure is the inevitable outcome of my human rights work at the firm in the past four years, which became a consuming passion,” he said in a statement.

Last week Remes commented on the reaction to the press conference in an interview with the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. “ The reaction to what I did makes me very sad,” he said. “I wish people paid as much attention to the suffering and torment in Guantanamo as they paid to the way I sought to dramatize it.”

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Posted by kay sieverding - 2 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 29 minutes ago

I didn’t have a problem with Mr. Remes bringing attention to the problems of his clients in that way.To me, he seems sincere. I didn’t really understand the “corn-fed” term but it was reported out of context and maybe it was an unintended slip. The fact that the guards probably are a lot bigger than the prisoners would make them more intimidating. There really might be a connection between eating sugar as a child and size when grown.
Posted by buckeyeduke - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 17 hours, 31 minutes ago

Poster #1: couple of questions for you: (1) why are you, more often than not, the very first responder to ABA journal stories--boredom, or a need to demonstrate your blinding inability to rationally link 2 or more sentences together into an understandable point? (2) your post on this story has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the story, so why post your rambles? (granted, neither does mine, but I view this as a public service to other ABA journal readers who look at the comments section and wonder who the heck you are) (3) your penultimate sentence makes me laugh. The fact that the GITMO guards have guns, not their size, would make them more intimidating. Your last sentence makes want to cry because of its total lack of relevance and disconnect from the first sentence regarding the attorney’s public support of his clients. Buy a clue: you’re not a lawyer--but I imagine you’ve had lots and lots of unpleasant experiences with lawyers, judges, and the media, haven’t you?--if you want to post where the majority of readers are lawyers, it would be nice to (a) maybe read some interesting first-hand accounts of your problems with the legal system so that you might informed considered opinions from professionals about conduct you believe to be unfair (for the uninformed reader, google “kay sieverding"), or (b) at least read something that remotely makes sense. I’m reminded of the movie “Billy Madison,” with its famous line “Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.” Again, buy a clue.
Posted by disheartened - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 17 hours, 6 minutes ago

How do you know his corn-fed comment was reported out of context if you didn’t really understand it? Having grown up in the South/Midwest I certainly felt it was a typical Red State/Blue State insult that completely undermined his purpose and took an inappropriate swipe at our men and women in uniform. He doesn’t get a pass for his comments on the basis of your childhood nutrition argument. Unfortunately, I view his words and his actions with enough self-righteousness and hypocrisy so as to discredit his motives. It really is a shame that he tainted this act with his ignorant and denigrating speech.
Posted by kay Sieverding - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes ago

What I meant is that the handling was meant to humiliate not for security. If the prisoners weighed 120 pounds and 240 pound guards were sent to handle them, that would increase the emotional impact. I think that it is possible that people who are from the Midwest are taller than people on the coasts and part of that is that the Midwest has a lot of people of Northern European backgrounds who are taller than people from Mediterranean backgrounds. My father’s mother was 5/1” and his dad was 5’8” but he ended up 6’5” and we all think that was because in Sweden when my great grandparents grew up there was poverty and a different diet. I think that people react more strongly when touched by people who look different than those they grew up with.

To # 2, I did have a horrible experience with the legal system which has made me very interested in reform. Previous to that, however, I had some good experiences with the legal profession. If you are going to criticize me particularly why don’t you identify yourself or email to me?
Posted by Chris - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 15 hours, 26 minutes ago

I agree with disheartened. It really is inappropriate to label someone as corn-fed in a way that implies they are a thug. Furthermore, it is questionable whether Remes is doing his clients justice by taking his pants off in public. This is a situation where the attorney is too passionate about the case, and the passion is not being focused properly. Remes needs to take a step back and really think of how his actions are going to be interpreted. Honestly, the only way Guantanamo detainees are going to see due process is if their attorney makes strong legal arguments and avoids public opinions - or just wait until the next president takes office and see if things change a little in the executive branch.
Posted by buckeyeduke - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 14 hours, 51 minutes ago

kay, if you haven’t figured out why blog comment responses allow their users to be anonymous, then you’re not bright enough to continue discussing any substantive issue related to either the tactics used by guards on GITMO detainees, or the proper roles of defenses attorneys in zealously advocating for their clients. Putting your thoughts out in a public forum opens you to criticims for the content of what you say (espcially when its irrelevant), and the validity of that criticism is not undermined by remaining anonimous. Please stop wasting time with your pet theories about why midwesterners are taller and how “being touched by people who look different” matters, as well as your requests to ID people who respond to your inane comments. Want a real dialogue about the substance of the story above, how ‘bout you stick with what you know, or at least ask meaningful questions of those readers who might know? Again, I would advise against continuing to do what appears to be a waste of your time.
Posted by Partypooper - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes ago

Buckeyeduke - just google “kay Sieverding” and you’ll find out about her lengthy dealings with the legal system why she has such an interest in the profession.
Posted by Joseph Myers - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 11 hours, 11 minutes ago

It is indeed amazing that so many people react so strongly to innocuous symbols as they “shoot the messenger,” rather than the cause, or situation, or incident upon which the message is based. And, certainly in our present political climate, often extraordinarily hypocritical. (People who deal harshly with our flag, a symbol of liberty, are pilloried—people who deal harshly with the liberties themselves get elected. Go figure.)
Posted by Houston Lawyer - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours, 55 minutes ago

buckeyeduke - What is your problem? Her comments were at least tangentially related to the story. Yours are just intended to belittle someone and to tell her how inane and stupid her comments (in your opinion) are. Why the hostility? Go after me if you like for not sticking to the topic. I don’t care to comment on the topic. It doesn’t interest me that much to discuss whether it was appropriate or not appropriate for a lawyer to drop his pants to make a point.

I’m a lawyer with a Mensa-level IQ, and I couldn’t care less what you say about me, so feel free to pick on my post as not being relevant to the story. I just felt that compelled to react to the condescension of your post. If you are a lawyer, you are one who encourages people to loathe our profession.
Posted by buckeyeduke - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 50 minutes ago

Houston Lawyer - I’m willing to admit my tone toward Seiverding was harsh; however, it was not uncivil, nor unjustified. Remember, this is a blog thread, not your high school model UN club debate. Just as you felt compelled to react to my “condecension,” I felt compelled to to react to her post. If you wish to understand why I chose the words I did, I recommend you google her. Context and tone will be clear. And lawyers aren’t loathed for their condescension--they’re loathed for many reasons, one of which is a perception that we’re willing to defend anyone or their opinion, for the right hourly fee, regardless of how silly they or their opinions are. Her comment was silly and pointless given the topic, and in my opinion she should have reconsidered it, as she should have reconsidered her postings on NUMEROUS other ABA journal stories. Sorry if I offended you with me appeal to reasoned discourse.
And would you like to swap mensa member cards to validate our repective IQs--what’s your point?
Posted by funnyman - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 8 minutes ago

I’m going to guess that “Mensa-level IQ” is code for “I’m not in Mensa, but I’m smart enough to be, really I am, believe me.” Guess what, I’m in pretty good shape, but I’m not going to call myself Marine fit. Nice grandstanding, though.
Posted by kay sieverding - 2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours, 57 minutes ago

The ABA has published “terms of use” for blog posts. I conformed with those “terms of use”. If you think that I did not conform, please be specific. In this blog, I commented on Mr. Reme’s resignation from Covington & Burling, Mr. Reme’s publicity techniques, humiliating prisoner body searching as discussed by Mr. Remes, and the use and meaning of the term “corn-fed” by Mr.Remes

The ABA does not publish standards for “brightness” as a prerequisite to posting on their blog. I thought that the whole point of the ABA blogs was to gather a diversity of opinions on the subjects. What does “buckeyeduke” think the purpose of the ABA’s blogs are?
Posted by kay sieveding - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 23 minutes ago

I looked at the mensa website and it looked pretty cool:

“Mensa has three stated purposes: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and to promote stimulating intellectual and social opportunities for its members.”

It looks like a really unique organization. Are many lawyers Mensa members?

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