View source for Moe Davis

{{About||the Canadian composer|Morris Davis (composer)}}
{{Short description|American politician (born 1958)}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Moe Davis
| image               = Morris Davis - Official bio pic (2).jpg
| birth_name          = Morris Durham Davis
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1958|7|31}}
| birth_place         = [[Shelby, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| education           = [[Appalachian State University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[North Carolina Central University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])<br>[[University of Virginia]] ([[Master of Laws|LLM]])<br>[[George Washington University]] ([[Master of Laws|LLM]])
| website             = {{url|www.moedavis.com|Official website}}
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States}}
| branch              = {{air force|United States}}
| serviceyears        = 1983–2008
| rank                = {{Dodseal|USAFO6|25}} [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]
| unit                = [[United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps|JAG Corps]]
| battles             = [[Operation Southern Watch]]
| mawards             = [[Legion of Merit]]<br>[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]] (6)<br>[[Air Force Commendation Medal]]<br>[[Air Force Achievement Medal]]<br>[[Southwest Asia Service Medal]]<br>[[Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal]]<br>[[Global War on Terrorism Service Medal]]
}}
'''Morris Durham "Moe" Davis''' (born July 31, 1958) is an American retired [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] colonel, attorney, educator, politician, and former [[administrative law judge]].

Davis was appointed the third Chief Prosecutor of the [[Guantanamo military commission]]s, where he served from September 2005 until October 2007.<ref name="GlobeandMail060110">{{cite news
 |url         = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060110.wguankhad0110/BNStory/International/
 |title       = Canadian no innocent, U.S. prosecutor argues
 |work        = [[The Globe and Mail]]
 |date        = January 10, 2006
 |access-date  = 2006-01-10
 |author      = Beth Gorham
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060112074720/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060110.wguankhad0110/BNStory/International/
 |archive-date = January 12, 2006
}}</ref> He also served as director of the Air Force Judiciary.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|date=2020-10-01|title=ABILITY Magazine - Moe Davis for Congress — Judge for Yourselves|url=https://abilitymagazine.com/moe-davis-for-congress-judge-for-yourselves/|access-date=2020-10-11|website=ABILITY Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> He resigned from the position after he refused to use evidence obtained through torture and because of political influence and pressure in prosecutions. He retired from active duty in October 2008.

In 2019, he officially announced his candidacy to replace U.S. Congressman [[Mark Meadows (North Carolina politician)|Mark Meadows]], in the [[United States House of Representatives]] after Meadows resigned to serve as [[White House Chief of Staff]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2019/12/19/mark-meadows-retire-after-4-terms-wncs-11-th-district/2696431001/|title=After 8 years representing WNC, Mark Meadows will not run for re-election|first1=Katie|last1=Wadington|first2=Brian|last2=Gordon|website=Citizen Times}}</ref> On March 3, 2020, Davis won the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[Partisan primary|primary]] for [[North Carolina's 11th congressional district]] with 52,665 votes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bpr.org/post/wnc-results-moe-davis-wins-dem-nod-while-gop-goes-runoff-nc11|title=WNC Results: Moe Davis Wins Dem Nod While GOP Goes To Runoff In NC11|first=Matt|last=Bush|newspaper=BPR|date=4 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Morris_%22Moe%22_Davis|title=Morris "Moe" Davis|website=Ballotpedia}}</ref> He lost to [[Madison Cawthorn]] in his election bid to the House of Representatives in the 2020 general election.

==Early life and education==

Davis was born and raised in [[Shelby, North Carolina]], He studied [[Criminal Justice]] at [[Appalachian State]] in the nearby town of [[Boone, North Carolina]], and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] in 1980. He received a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] from [[North Carolina Central University School of Law]] in 1983 and joined the Air Force as a [[Judge Advocate General's Corps (United States)|J.A.G.]] officer in the same year. In 1992, he earned [[Master of Laws|LL.M.]] degrees in military law (with a concentration in government procurement law) from [[The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School|JAG School]] at the [[University of Virginia]] in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]], and in government procurement law from [[George Washington University Law School|The National Law Center]] at [[George Washington University]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=OfficialBio>{{cite web
| url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2006/d20060111Davis.pdf
| title=Biography: Colonel Morris D. Davis
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| access-date=2007-06-28
}}</ref>

Davis is currently living with his wife Lisa, who works for an animal rescue, in Asheville, North Carolina.<ref name="auto"/>

==Career==
Unlike his predecessors at Guantanamo, [[Fred Borch]] and [[Robert L. Swann (military lawyer)|Robert L. Swann]], Davis has been a visible public figure.<ref name=GlobeandMail060110 /><ref name=NyTimes20070626>Davis' remarks resulted in legal actions against him for prosecutorial misconduct and bar complaints. After threatening to have defense counsel prosecuted, the accused in that matter was offered a deal to save Davis' career.
{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/opinion/26davis.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all
| title=The Guantánamo I Know
| author=Morris D. Davis
| newspaper=The New York Times
| date=June 26, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-26
}}</ref><ref name=NatPost060110>
{{cite news
 |url         = http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=6c92c335-ee83-40f5-b099-3e0b9a8a758e&k=71973
 |title       = Prosecutor says teen should be tried by military tribunal
 |newspaper   = [[National Post]]
 |date        = January 10, 2006
 |access-date  = 2006-01-10
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311014813/http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=6c92c335-ee83-40f5-b099-3e0b9a8a758e&k=71973
 |archive-date = March 11, 2007
}}</ref><ref name=BHerald>{{cite news
 |url         = http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/world/13984761.htm
 |title       = Prosecutor vows to proceed with war crimes trials
 |publisher   = [[The Herald (Bradenton)|The Bradenton Herald]]
 |date        = February 28, 2006
 |access-date  = 2006-03-01
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311140420/http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/world/13984761.htm
 |archive-date = March 11, 2007
}}</ref><ref name=NYTimes070305>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/world/asia/05hicks.html
| title=Terror Case Prosecutor Assails Defense Lawyer
| work=The New York Times
| first=Raymond
| last=Bonner
| date=March 5, 2007
| access-date=May 13, 2010
}}</ref>
His statements have triggered controversy.<ref name=NyTimes20070627>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/opinion/l27gitmo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
| date=June 27, 2007
| newspaper=The New York Times
| title=All Is Not Well at Guantánamo (6 Letters)
| access-date=2007-06-28
}}</ref><ref name=InternationalHeraldTribune20070628>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/28/opinion/edletters.php
| newspaper=International Herald Tribune
| title=Guantánamo and U.S. justice
| access-date=2007-06-28
}}</ref> Davis once said in an interview that he was asked to replace Borch at Guantanamo because of Borch's pushing of ethical bounds.<ref name="auto"/>

Khadr's attorney, Muneer Ahmad of [[American University]], accused Colonel Davis of ethical misconduct for referring to Khadr as a "terrorist" and a "murderer" during the January 10, 2006, press conference. Ahmad asked the [[Presiding Officer (Guantanamo Military Commissions)|Presiding Officer]] to sanction Colonel Davis for the comments, but the presiding officer found the comments were fair and balanced, given the repeated negative out of court statements Ahmad had made for months prior to the hearing. When asked why the prosecution had finally broken its silence, Davis said:<ref name=GlobalNational060113>{{cite news
 |url         = http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=0c3137d0-e112-4304-b5e2-849a500b20f6
 |title       = U.S. tribunal rejects gag order in Khadr case
 |publisher   = [[Global National]]
 |date        = January 13, 2006
 |access-date  = 2006-01-15
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311074618/http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=0c3137d0-e112-4304-b5e2-849a500b20f6
 |archive-date = March 11, 2007
}}</ref>
{{quote|For a number of months we've sat on the sidelines. We've just kind of taken it. There comes a time when you don't take it anymore.}}

On February 28, 2006, Davis spoke out again regarding the commissions, saying:<ref name=BHerald />

{{quote|Remember if you dragged Dracula out into the sunlight he melted? Well, that's kind of the way it is trying to drag a detainee into the courtroom.}}

Guantanamo defense attorney [[H. Candace Gorman]] countered in a Huffington Post op-ed that this was an odd statement from Davis since it was the military's fault that so few cases had come to trial before the military commissions. By early 2007, only [[David Hicks]], an Australian citizen, was being tried, and all but one of the charges against him had been dropped before trial for lack of evidence.<ref name=HuffingtonPostGorman20070305 />

In March 2007, Davis threatened Major [[Michael Mori]], the military defense counsel assigned to Hicks' case with prosecution under the [[Uniform Code of Military Justice]], claiming that Mori had acted improperly in criticizing the military commissions while in Australia gathering evidence for the defense.<ref name=NYTimes070305 /><ref name=HuffingtonPostGorman20070305>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-candace-gorman-/cullys-mentor-moe-and-hi_b_42673.html
| author=H. Candace Gorman
| author-link=H. Candace Gorman
| title=Cully's Mentor MOE and His Six Point Plan
| work=The Huffington Post
| date=March 5, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-28
}}</ref><ref name=HuffingtonPostGorman20070522>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-candace-gorman-/is-there-a-larry-lurking-_b_49078.html
| author=H. Candace Gorman
| author-link=H. Candace Gorman
| title=Is There a Larry Lurking in the Bushies?
| work=The Huffington Post
| date=May 22, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-28
}}</ref><ref name=JURIST20070305>
{{cite news
 |publisher   = [[JURIST]]
 |url         = http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/03/us-military-commissions-prosecutor.php
 |date        = March 5, 2007
 |title       = US military commissions prosecutor slams Hicks military lawyer for alleged excesses
 |author      = Bernard Hibbitts
 |author-link      = Bernard Hibbitts
 |access-date  = 2007-06-28
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090509002156/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/03/us-military-commissions-prosecutor.php
 |archive-date = May 9, 2009
}}</ref> Mori responded angrily, "Are they trying to intimidate me?"<ref name=NYTimes070305 />

Col. Dwight Sullivan, the Chief Defense Counsel for the military commissions, said that Major Mori's behavior as defense counsel was "absolutely proper."<ref name=NYTimes070305 /> He said that, "a military defense lawyer is supposed to provide the same level of representation as a civilian lawyer." He said that in pressing Mr. Hicks's case in Australia, "Major Mori is fulfilling his duty as an officer and as an attorney."<ref name=NYTimes070305 />

Davis, similar to his father, is in the highest disability rating at 60 percent.<ref name="auto"/>

==="The Guantánamo I Know"===
On June 26, 2007, an op-ed by Davis, entitled "The Guantanamo I know", was published in ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name=NyTimes20070626b>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/opinion/26davis.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all
| title=The Guantánamo I Know
| author=Morris D. Davis
| newspaper=The New York Times
| date=June 26, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-26
}}</ref> In it, Davis argued that the Guantánamo Bay detention center is humane, professional, and operating in compliance with international law.

===Supreme court to hear challenges to the Military Commissions Act===
Congress authorized the military commission system under the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]], to create an alternative to the existing federal and military system. It restricted detainees as [[enemy combatants]] and those whose review was pending, to the military commission process; it prohibited their use of federal courts. The government stayed pending writs of habeas corpus.

On June 29, 2007, the Supreme Court agreed to hear some outstanding claims of habeas corpus, opening up the possibility that they might overturn some or all of the Military Commissions Act.<ref name=JURIST20070629>
{{cite news
 |date        = June 29, 2007
 |publisher   = [[JURIST]]
 |title       = Supreme Court to hear Guantanamo Bay detainee habeas cases
 |author      = Jeannie Shawl
 |url         = http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/06/supreme-court-to-hear-guantanamo-bay.php
 |access-date  = 2007-06-29
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070701200208/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/06/supreme-court-to-hear-guantanamo-bay.php
 |archive-date = July 1, 2007
}}</ref>

Davis called the Supreme Court's intention to review the MCA "meddling":
<ref name=WashingtonPost20070629>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062900761_2.html
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102085314/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062900761_2.html
| url-status=dead
| archive-date=November 2, 2012
| title=Court to hear Guantanamo prisoners appeals
| newspaper=The Washington Post
| author=James Vicini
| date= June 29, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-29
}}</ref>

{{quote|This constant uncertainty and meddling certainly takes a toll on people, It would be nice to have some certainty for a change.}}

===Resignation as Chief Prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay===
{{See also|List of resignations from the Guantanamo military commission}}
In October 2007, Colonel Davis resigned from his position as Chief Prosecutor. He had made the policy that evidence obtained from the use of [[waterboarding]], which he considered torture, would not be admissible as evidence in the military commissions. By this time, charges were being developed against high-value detainees, some of whom had been waterboarded in the custody of the CIA. Davis was overruled in his policy by his superiors, including [[William J. Haynes, II]], the General Counsel for the Department of Defense.

Davis resigned in protest and transferred to become the Head of the Air Force Judiciary, stating, "The guy who said [[waterboarding]] is A-okay I was not going to take orders from. I quit."<ref name="melia">Melia, Michael. ''[[Toronto Star]],'' [https://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/419384 "Ex-Gitmo prosecutor charges Pentagon interference"], April 29, 2008</ref> He also charged that there was meddling from the Pentagon in cases, and claimed this presented serious conflicts of interest.<ref name=WashingtonPost20071020>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/20/AR2007102000179.html
| title=Ex-Prosecutor Alleges Pentagon Plays Politics
| newspaper=The Washington Post
| author=Josh White
| date= October 20, 2007
| access-date=2007-10-20
| author-link= Josh White (journalist)
}}</ref>

Davis said he was denied an end-of-tour medal for his two years at Guantanamo because he resigned and later spoke out about problems in the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions. Davis stated about the medal denial, "I tell the truth, and I get labeled as having served dishonorably. I'm very concerned about the chilling effect ... on the process".<ref>White, Josh, "Colonel Says Speaking Out Cost A Medal", ''[[The Washington Post]],'' May 29, 2008, pg 9.</ref> Since his resignation, Davis has frequently spoken out against the Commissions.<ref name=DemocracyNow20080716>
{{cite news
 |url=http://i3.democracynow.org/2008/7/16/fmr_chief_guantanamo_prosecutor_says_military
 |title=Fmr. Chief Guantanamo Prosecutor Says Military Commissions "Not Justice"
 |publisher=[[Democracy Now]]
 |author=Amy Goodman
 |author-link=Amy Goodman
 |date=2008-07-16
 |access-date=2008-07-18
 |url-status=live
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804084911/http://i3.democracynow.org/2008/7/16/fmr_chief_guantanamo_prosecutor_says_military
 |archive-date=2008-08-04
}} 
</ref>

In 2008, Davis was called by the defense to testify in the military commission of [[Salim Ahmed Hamdan]], Osama bin Laden's driver, where he repeated his accusations of political interference. He said Pentagon interest in the progress of trials of detainees greatly increased after September 2006, when high-value detainees were transferred from the CIA to Guantanamo.<ref name="melia" />

===Congressional Research Service===
[[File:Col. Morris Davis (16341608702) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Davis in January 2015]]
Davis was named the head of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division of the [[Congressional Research Service]] in December 2008;<!--tag When? is answered by the citation--> and was fired from this job in late November or early December 2009.<ref name=Newsweek2009-12-03 /> His firing was thought prompted because of an [[op-ed]] Davis published in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' that criticized a federal proposal to prosecute detainees in either military commissions or federal courts; he believed that one venue had to be consistently used.<ref name=WallStreetJournal2009-11-10>
{{cite news
 |url         = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704402404574525581723576284?mod=googlenews_wsj
 |title       = Justice and Guantanamo Bay: It is a mistake to try some detainees in federal courts and others by military commissions
 |newspaper   = The Wall Street Journal
 |date        = 2009-11-10
 |author      = Morris Davis
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111116162440/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704402404574525581723576284.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
 |archive-date = 2011-11-16
 |url-status  = dead
}}</ref> Davis wrote: "The administration must choose. Either federal courts or military commissions, but not both, for the detainees that deserve to be prosecuted and punished for their past conduct."<ref name=WallStreetJournal2009-11-10 />

====''Davis v. Billington''====
In 2010, Davis sued the Library of Congress for wrongful termination under the [[Hatch Act of 1939|Hatch Act]] in [[Davis v. Billington]], claiming his First Amendment free speech rights were violated. The lawsuit was settled out of court and in 2016, Davis announced that his personnel file had been amended to remove language indicating that he had been separated "for cause" and that the Library of Congress had agreed to pay $100,000 in the settlement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/cases/davis-v-billington|title=Davis v. Billington|website=American Civil Liberties Union}}</ref>

===Crimes of War Education Project===
Davis was Executive Director of the Crimes of War Education Project from 2010 to 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/52-2117071|title=Crimes Of War Education Project - GuideStar Profile|website=www.guidestar.org}}</ref> He was assistant professor at [[Howard University School of Law]] from 2011 to 2015, teaching legal reasoning, research and writing, oral advocacy and national security law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://themoderatevoice.com/interview-with-col-morris-davis/|title=Interview with Col. Morris Davis – The Moderate Voice}}</ref>

===Administrative law judge===
Davis was an administrative law judge with the U.S. Department of Labor from 2015 to 2019, ruling on workers compensation cases involving issues from black lung disease to whistleblower cases, immigration visa appeals, child labor and other cases related to labor laws.

In the summer of 2019 Davis ruled<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-enterprise-discrimination-trial-20190801-gshrlgxlfbdvjfxau6iy7sw55i-story.html|title=Enterprise in Baltimore ordered to pay $6.6 million to rejected black applicants in hiring discrimination case|first=Colin|last=Campbell|website=baltimoresun.com|date=August 2019 }}</ref> that a [[Baltimore, MD|Baltimore, Maryland]]–based subsidiary of [[Enterprise Rent-A-Car]], Enterprise RAC Company of Baltimore, had violated [[United States labor law]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrunlimitedinc.com/enterprise-rent-a-cars-6-6-million-hiring-discrimination-suit-reveals-best-practices/|title=Enterprise Rent-a-Car's $6.6 Million Hiring Discrimination Suit Reveals Best Practices &#124;}}</ref> while contracting for the Federal government. In his decision he ordered the company to pay a $6.6 million [[Fine (penalty)|fine]] and offer other [[restitution]] for [[discrimination]] against [[African Americans]] in its hiring, training, and promotion selections.<ref>[https://www.baltimoresun.com/2016/06/09/labor-dept-baltimore-area-enterprise-rent-a-car-discriminated-against-black-applicants/ "Labor Dept: Baltimore-area Enterprise Rent-A-Car discriminated against black applicants"]</ref>

In an article on the lawsuit that preceded the Department of Labor ruling, ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' quoted an unnamed Enterprise company spokeswoman who contended that Enterprise had a "strong record of equal opportunity" in their hiring and employment practices and pointed to the company's recruitment outreach at [[HBCU]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-enterprise-discrimination-suit-20160609-story.html|title=Labor Dept: Baltimore-area Enterprise Rent-A-Car discriminated against black applicants|first=Natalie|last=Sherman|website=baltimoresun.com|date=9 June 2016 }}</ref>

===2020 congressional campaign===
{{Main|2020 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina#District 11}}
On November 17, 2019, Davis announced his congressional bid for [[North Carolina's 11th congressional district]] held by Republican [[Mark Meadows (North Carolina politician)|Mark Meadows]]. Davis says he initially ran for Congress because he did not see a Democratic challenger running at the time that would beat Meadows. However, once Meadows dropped out of the race, he continued running because "I figured I’ve got 30-plus years of defending democracy, and just to sit back now and watch it go down the drain just wasn’t palatable."<ref name="auto"/> Davis entered the Democratic primary along with Democrats Michael O'Shea, Gina Collias, Phillip Price, and Steve Woodsmall. Davis won the primary on March 3, 2020, with 47.35 percent of the vote. Collias was a distant second with 22.67 percent.<ref name=WLOSMorrisDavis>
{{cite news
 |url       = https://wlos.com/news/election/asheville-resident-moe-davis-to-run-for-congress-in-north-carolinas-11th-district
 |title     = WNC local, retired colonel Moe Davis to run for congress in North Carolina's 11th district
 |newspaper = News 13 WLOS (ABC News)
 |date      = 2019-10-02
 |author    = WLOS Staff
}}</ref>

Davis lost the 2020 election to [[Madison Cawthorn]], 54.5% to 42.4%.<ref>"State Composite Abstract Report - Contest.pdf" (PDF). North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 24, 2020.</ref>

{{Election box begin no change
| title = North Carolina's 11th congressional district, 2020<ref name="NCgenr">{{cite web |title=State Composite Abstract Report - Contest.pdf |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2020-11-24/Canvass/State%20Composite%20Abstract%20Report%20-%20Contest.pdf |website=North Carolina State Board of Elections |access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref><ref> "District 11, North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement". North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. Retrieved November 10, 2018.</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = [[Madison Cawthorn]]
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 245,351	
| percentage = 54.5
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Moe Davis
| party      = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes      = 190,609	
| percentage = 42.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Tracey DeBruhl
| party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
| votes      = 8,682	
| percentage = 1.9
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Tamara Zwinak
| party      = Green Party (United States)
| votes      = 5,503	
| percentage = 1.2
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes      = 450,145
| percentage = 100.0
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no change
  | winner = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

====Endorsements====
Early endorsements for Davis came from progressive Democrats, legal scholars, and human rights activists. [[Chris Lu]], former [[U.S. Secretary of Labor|U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor]] under the [[Obama Administration]] pledged support, as did [[Fletcher, North Carolina]]–based civil rights attorney [[Frank Goldsmith]], [[Harvard Law School]] professor and [[Constitutional Law]] expert [[Laurence Tribe]], and [[Eugene R. Fidell]], the Florence Rogatz Visiting Lecturer in Law at [[Yale Law School]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://moedavisforcongress.com/endorsements/|title=ENDORSEMENTS – Moe Davis for Congress|website=moedavisforcongress.com}}</ref> Davis was also endorsed by [[VoteVets.org]], which represents 700,000 progressive veterans; the Sierra Club; Equality NC and the AFL-CIO Western North Carolina Central Labor Council.

====Political positions====
During his post-military career Davis has published numerous op-eds and other criticisms of the Guantanamo Military Commission process.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/morris-davis|title=Morris Davis &#124; The Guardian|website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704402404574525581723576284|title=Justice and Guantanamo Bay|first=Morris|last=Davis|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=November 11, 2009|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/author/morris-davis|title=Morris Davis &#124; HuffPost|website=www.huffpost.com}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes2015-03-28" />
On March 27, 2015, after [[Harvey Rishikof]], the most recent [[Convening authority (court-martial)|convening authority]]
for the Guantanamo military commissions was fired after less than a year on the job,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/summary-declarations-regarding-removal-military-commission-convening-authority-rishikof|title=Summary: Declarations Regarding the Removal of Military Commission Convening Authority Rishikof|date=March 23, 2018|website=Lawfare}}</ref> Morris wrote:

<blockquote>Think about that for a moment. If a professional football team was on its seventh head coach and sixth quarterback in less than a dozen years, that team would almost certainly be a loser.</blockquote>

Davis tweeted a claim that he was blocked by [[Donald Trump]] on Twitter prior to Trump's 2016 candidacy.<ref>{{cite twitter|user=ColMorrisDavis|number=1215031684170764289|date=January 8, 2020|title=Weigh In: Should Trump Be Able To Block American Citizens And Veterans On Social Media?}}</ref>

Davis openly opposed Trump's actions during his presidency. He finds it appalling that Trump isolated the Kurds, and he believes that Trump was undermining all the hard work it took to build up US alliances.<ref name="auto"/>

Moe Davis attracted negative attention for his violence-encouraging statements, "When @NCGOP extremists go low, we stomp their scrawny pasty necks with our heels and once you hear the sound of a crisp snap you grind your heel hard and twist it slowly side to side for good measure." He would be quoted on [[Twitter]] on several occasions for such violent rhetoric.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/09/15/tweet-storm-moe-davis-attacks-expletives-vulgarity/5806570002/|title=Tweet storm: Moe Davis attacks with expletives, vulgarity; blames anger over Trump, GOP|first=Sally Kestin and Peter H.|last=Lewis|website=The Asheville Citizen Times}}</ref>

Moe Davis accused his former opponent Congressman Madison Cawthorn of sedition under US law: "I was Chief Prosecutor at Guantanamo for over 2 years and there’s far more evidence of Congressman Madison Cawthorn’s guilt than there was of guilt for 95+ percent of the detainees. It's time we start a domestic war on sedition by American terrorists."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ColMorrisDavis/status/1351164251830935558|title=Former Gitmo Prosecutor Calls Freshman GOP Rep An 'American Terrorist' }}</ref>

===2026 congressional campaign===
{{Main|2026 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina#District 11}}
On May 5, 2025, Davis told ''[[Smoky Mountain News]]'' that he would again run for Congress in North Carolina's 11th congressional district in 2026, challenging Republican incumbent [[Chuck Edwards]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vaillancourt |first1=Cory |title=Moe Davis enters NC-11 congressional race |url=https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/39515-moe-davis-enters-nc-11-congressional-race |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=Smoky Mountain News |date=May 5, 2025}}</ref>

==Military awards==
{{Expand section|with=four missing awards (see infobox photo)|date=January 2022}}
Davis has received the following awards and recognition.<ref name=OfficialBio />

{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="text-align:center; background:silver;"
||Ribbon ||  style="background:silver; text-align:center;"|Description ||  style="background:silver; text-align:center;"|Notes
|-
|[[File:Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|106px|Ribbon of the LOM]] ||[[Legion of Merit]]||
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}||[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]||Four oak leaf clusters
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=Air and Space Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}||[[Air Force Commendation Medal]]||Two oak leaf clusters
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Achievement Medal USAF.svg|width=106}}||[[Air Force Achievement Medal]]||One oak leaf cluster
|-
|[[File:Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|106px|Ribbon of the GWOT-EM]] ||[[Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal]]||
|-
|[[File:Global War on Terrorism Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px|Ribbon of the GWOT-SM]] ||[[Global War on Terrorism Service Medal]]||
|-
|[[File:Southwest Asia Service Medal ribbon (1991–2016).svg|106px|Ribbon of the SASM]] ||[[Southwest Asia Service Medal]]||
|}

==See also==
{{div col}}
*[[Robert Preston (military lawyer)|Robert Preston]]
*[[John Carr (military lawyer)|John Carr]]
*[[Carrie Wolf]]
*[[Fred Borch]]
*[[Stuart Couch]]
*[[List of resignations from the Guantanamo military commission]]
*[[Waterboarding]]
*[[Mark Meadows (North Carolina politician)|Mark Meadows]]
*[[Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Newsweek2009-12-03>{{cite news
 |url         = http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archive/2009/12/03/top-congressional-researcher-on-afghanistan-fired.aspx
 |title       = Top Congressional researcher on Afghanistan fired
 |publisher   = [[Newsweek magazine]]
 |author      = Michael Isikoff
 |date        = 2009-12-03
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100412112506/http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archive/2009/12/03/top-congressional-researcher-on-afghanistan-fired.aspx
 |archive-date = 2010-04-12
 |access-date  = 2015-03-28
 |url-status  = dead
}}</ref>
<ref name=NYTimes2015-03-28>
{{cite news
| url         = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/opinion/guantanamos-charade-of-justice.html?_r=0
| title       = Guantánamo's Charade of Justice
| newspaper   = [[The New York Times]]
| author      = Morris D. Davis
| date        = 2015-03-28
| page        = A21
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150328055841/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/opinion/guantanamos-charade-of-justice.html
| archive-date = 2015-03-28
| url-status  = live
}}
</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://moedavisforcongress.com/ Moe Davis for Congress] campaign website
{{CongLinks|fec=H0NC11175|votesmart=188539}}
* {{C-SPAN|1018824}}

===Video===
*[http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/16/fmr_chief_guantanamo_prosecutor_says_military Moe Davis interview] from ''Democracy Now!'', July 16, 2008
*[https://www.c-span.org/video/?411300-1/guantanamo-prosecutor-speaks-lawsuit-library-congress Moe Davis comments at National Press Club] from ''C-SPAN'', June 17, 2016

===Other===
*[https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fired-20101206,0,2574412.story Retired colonel fights Library of Congress over firing] December 6, 2010
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2005/d20051104khadr.pdf U.S. v Omar Khadr (.pdf)], ''[[US Department of Defense]]'', November 2005
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2006/d20060111Davis.pdf Official biography (.pdf)], ''[[US Department of Defense]]''
*{{cite web
 |url         = http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/monitor/2006/03/military-commissions-in-war-on-terror.php
 |title       = Military Commissions in the War on Terror [CWRU]
 |date        = March 9, 2006
 |publisher   = [[JURIST]]
 |access-date  = 2007-06-28
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070821000546/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/monitor/2006/03/military-commissions-in-war-on-terror.php
 |archive-date = August 21, 2007
}}
*{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/opinion/17davis.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=all
| title=Unforgivable Behavior, Inadmissible Evidence
| newspaper=The New York Times
| author=Morris Davis
| date=February 17, 2008
| access-date=2008-02-10
}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|United States|Politics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Moe}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Activists from North Carolina]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Iraq War]]
[[Category:American community activists]]
[[Category:American judges]]
[[Category:American military lawyers]]
[[Category:American whistleblowers]]
[[Category:Appalachian State University alumni]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections]]
[[Category:George Washington University Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Guantanamo Military Commission Prosecutors]]
[[Category:United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:North Carolina Central University alumni]]
[[Category:North Carolina Democrats]]
[[Category:American opinion journalists]]
[[Category:People from Asheville, North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Shelby, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:United States Air Force colonels]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)]]
[[Category:The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni]]