McClatchy Washington Bureau

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A former chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, testified on Monday that the Pentagon rushed to bring some of the accused terrorists to trial so that the process would be under way before President Bush leaves office.

In an extraordinary scene, Air Force Col. Morris Davis testified for two hours as a witness for the defense of Osama bin Laden's driver, Salim Hamdan, 36, of Yemen. His lawyers want the trial judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, to dismiss his case because commanders allegedly exercised ``unlawful command influence.''

''There was that constant theme that if we don't get this thing rolling before the election, it's going to implode,'' he said, while the driver listened intently. ``Once you get the victim families energized and the cases rolling, whoever took the White House would have difficulty stopping the process.''

Hillary Clinton has said she would try to move the cases to civilian courts if elected. Barack Obama has been less specific, but has also questioned the commissions. Republican John McCain has vowed to close Guantanamo and bring the cases to the United States for military trial.

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