Guantanamo defense lawyer faces criminal charges

Scott Fenstermaker, civilian attorney for Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Ghailani, speaks on his phone after Ghailani was arraigned in U.S. Federal Court, in New York

BANGOR, Maine — A defense lawyer in Maine who once represented detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison has been charged with several criminal counts, and a prosecutor is recommending his disbarment, court records show.

Scott Fenstermaker was charged with trespassing, assault, reckless conduct and attempted theft in November, according to the records.

Fenstermaker told the Bangor Daily News that the November charges were filed after an argument broke out while he was trying to persuade a towing company owner to release his client’s car from an impound lot. He said he was working in his capacity as a lawyer at the time and it’s “not like I was going out and burglarizing homes in my free time.”

The court case against Fenstermaker is currently awaiting a new judge. A letter from the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar states that the prosecutor working on Fenstermaker’s case is seeking his disbarment.

Fenstermaker worked as a lawyer in New York for three decades and once represented a person who prosecutors said was a courier for Osama bin Laden, the Daily News reported.

He was also previously among a group of lawyers in Maine who were eligible to represent people who cannot afford a lawyer. The agency that oversees that roster of lawyers has barred him from taking on cases, Justin Andrus, the commission’s executive director, told the newspaper.