Military commission defendants are better off than court-martial accuseds

[T]here are key differences between CMCR [Court of Military Commission Review] judges and their CCA [Court of Criminal Appeals] counterparts. While the Judge Advocates General can remove CCA judges without cause, the Defense Secretary can remove military judges from the CMCR for “good cause” or “military necessity” only. 10 U.S.C. § 949b(b)(4). Because removal is “a powerful tool for control,” Edmond, 520 U.S. at 664, the added insulation of CMCR judges is constitutionally significant. Additionally, the Supreme Court made a point in Edmond to emphasize that the CAAF [Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces] is “another Executive Branch entity.” Id. at 664 & n.2 (emphasis added). The CMCR’s decisions, by contrast, “are appealable only to [a] court[] of the Third Branch,” id. at 666—namely, this Court. 10 U.S.C. § 950g(a). 

In re Al-Nashiri , No. 14-203 (D.C. Cir. June 23, 2015), at 21 (emphasis added),

ably discussed here by Prof. Steve Vladeck