WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A military judge Thursday refused to delay proceedings against the accused mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen.
The judge, Col. James Pohl, refused the government's request for a delay and ordered arraignment for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri to go on as scheduled Feb. 9, despite President Barack Obama's call for a temporary halt to trials of suspected terrorists.
CNN reported that Obama's order is meant to give his administration time to review cases pending before the controversial military commission process. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday's ruling won't affect the Obama administration's review.
"We are consulting with the Pentagon and the Department of Justice to explore our options in that case," Gibbs said.
The Office of Military Commissions, which manages the prosecutions, may have to temporarily drop charges against al-Nashiri to comply with the presidential order, an agency spokesman said.
Still, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said no proceedings against al-Nashiri would proceed.
"The bottom line is, we all work for the president of the United States in this chain of command," Morrell said. "And he has signed an executive order that has made it abundantly clear that until these reviews are done, all of this is on hiatus."
