 Livingstone served as Under Secretary of the Navy from July 26, 2001 to February 28, 2003.As the Under Secretary of the Navy, Livingstone was cited by General Counsel of the United States Navy, Alberto J. Mora for revoking Department of Defense regulations, authorized by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, that allowed the use of coercive interrogation techniques on detainees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.After the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Director David Brandt briefed Mora on alleged maltreatment of detainees at Guantanamo, Mora says he turned to Livingstone after his appeals to the Department of Defense General Counsel's office failed.