Haynes Leaving DOD

William J. Haynes II, DOD General Counsel, is stepping down from his position in March. The DOD Press Release is here. Haynes, played a critical role in decisions surrounding the application of the Geneva Conventions to detainees, the use of GTMO as a detention facility, as well as the interrogation standards to be employed there and elsewhere. For a time, the Bush Administration looked to move Haynes to the 4th Circuit, but that effort never made it out of Committee. Haynes now appears prepared to return to “private life,” his nomination no doubt a casualty of the hostility that his legal (and policy) judgments produced in some quarters. Still, I wonder how “private” that life will be. I don’t think we’ve heard the end of the story on whether Haynes sought to influence the outcome of the U.S. military commission trials. I’d also suspect he may find himself named in a few new lawsuits similar to those filed against his former DOJ colleague John Yoo.