Lonetree Fires 2 Civilian Lawyers, Retains Marine

Marine Sgt. Clayton J. Lonetree has fired two civilian lawyers who represented him in his espionage court-martial and has chosen a military lawyer as his lead attorney, the lawyers were informed Friday.

Attorney William Kunstler said the firing of himself and Michael Stuhff is part of a Marine Corps effort to get other Marines implicated in a “mythical spy ring.”

Lonetree, a former Moscow embassy guard who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, fired Kunstler and Stuhff in a letter that Kunstler said was written by Lawrence Cohen, a lawyer representing Lonetree’s father, Spencer Lonetree of St. Paul.

Lonetree, 25, of St. Paul, is being held at the Quantico, Va., Marine base. In the letter, he said that he was dissatisfied with his civilian lawyers. His new lead attorney, he said, is Maj. David Henderson, a military lawyer who worked with Kunstler and Stuhff during the court-martial.

“Either wittingly or unwittingly, Spencer Lonetree and Lawrence Cohen have been utilized by the military to virtually stop all meaningful representation of Clayton Lonetree,” Kunstler said.

Kunstler said he regretted that Lonetree agreed to accept a five-year reduction in his 30-year sentence by further cooperating with government agents in videotaped interrogation sessions.

He said he believes the government will offer further reductions as “bait” to get Lonetree to drop plans for appeal.