Posted on 08/01/2006 9:05:50 PM PDT by Velveeta
A Marine Corps staff sergeant who led the squad accused of killing two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will file a lawsuit today in federal court in Washington claiming that Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) defamed him when the congressman made public comments about the incident earlier this year.
Attorneys for Frank D. Wuterich, 26, argue in court papers that Murtha tarnished the Marine's reputation by telling news organizations in May that the Marine unit cracked after a roadside bomb killed one of its members and that the troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." Murtha also said repeatedly that the incident was covered up. (snipped)
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Sorry, I misunderstood your post about his legal fees but Mrs. Irey can still use the support. :-)
"Not too many people know that servicemen and women cannot sue the government, and frankly I'm surprised that This Staff Sergeant is able to sue Murtha at all."
He's not suing the govt. He's suing an individual for repeated defamatory remarks made outside the halls of Congress.
It's one thing to disagree with the President and Secretary of Defense on how the war is being handled, that's politics. It's quite another to make disparaging and prejudicial remarks directly against our troops based on "heresay".
That's the line that Murtha crossed and while it's not the way of folks around here to say much aloud, the vast majority of his constituents have ties to the military and Murtha's remarks about the "troops" don't "sit well" with them.
All the "pork" in the world (and it's a funny thing about that "pork" that hasn't gone unnoticed around here ;) isn't going to cancel out statements that are perceived as "personal insults". (aka so where was Murtha when our troops came home? ;)
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.
Byrd, Durbin, Pelosi, Waxman, Reid, Kerry, Biden, McKinney 
An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known, and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very hall of government itself.
Rockefeller, Carter, Kucinich,Edwards,Gore,Dean,Mulkulski,Harkin 
For the traitor appears no traitor. He speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in hearts of men.
KENNEDY,BOXER,HILLARY CLINTON, MURTHA ,Shumer,Conyers, Waters,Rangel 
He rots the soul of a nation. He works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city. He infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A Murderer Is Less To Be Feared." Cicero, 42 B.C.
The above montage was put together by FReeper "Zac's Mom".
And more so, in this case, Murtha made the mistake of singling out identifiable individuals. This isn't a general political statement, it is a specific accusation/slur against parties who have been harmed by the the slander.
A bit more information in today's updated WaPo here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/02/AR2006080200493.html
snippet:
"The false, misleading and defamatory statements disseminated by Mr. Murtha portray ... Wuterich as a cold-blooded killer, untrained and falling victim to stress, as well as being involved in a cover-up of the tragic events of November 19, 2005," the Marine's lawyers say in the court filing.
"Mr. Murtha has intentionally disseminated with malice his hearsay version of the events of November 19, 2005 with knowledge of the false and libelous nature of the statements contained therein and/or with gross negligence or reckless disregard for the truth," the suit states.
A spokeswoman for Murtha declined to comment, but said the congressman would release a statement later on Wednesday.
Wuterich is suing for damages of at least $75,000, a public apology and an injunction prohibiting publication of allegations against the Marine.
Snippet:
Wuterich's lawyers, Neal A. Puckett and Mark S. Zaid, subsequently provided a copy of the suit to The Associated Press early Wednesday and announced plans for a news conference outside the courthouse where they planned to file the suit.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16996460&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6
Thanks for the ping.
The fact is he didn't fling personal insults.....he accused them of "killing in cold blood" which would be the death sentence for them. This thing has gone far beyond school yard insults. I am encouraged to hear that the good people of PA are willing to throw away their pork roast to get rid of this guy.
These Marines are fighting for their lives, AGAIN! Only this time it is not on the battlefield, but in their own country against their own elected officials and the perverted American "legal" system.
Yes, please.
Just got home from camping/fishing and found this great news.
If this Marine needs some help financially to pay for legal fees I'm in for a small amount, whatever I can afford.
From the article, "...suing for libel and invasion of privacy, also wrote that Murtha made the comments outside of his official scope as a congressman."
He's not protected.
Very well said.
Thank you.
I'll accept your thanks on behalf of Zac's Mom. She's unable to participate on the forum right now for health reasons:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675862/posts
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