[Girlene]

Good info on Dela Cruz's testimony. This is the first I've seen that Dela Cruz failed a polygraph. It would be even more interesting to know what version he was telling about the sedan incident when he failed it.

The Washington Post article is quite revealing about Dela Cruz's testimony, as is the New York Times article, "At Marines’ Hearing, Testament to Violence".

[snip] Sergeant Dela Cruz has admitted to lying to an Army colonel who initially investigated the Haditha episode, in which Marine riflemen killed 24 Iraqis, including at least 10 women and children, after a roadside bomb killed one of their comrades.

In a sworn statement, he told the colonel that Iraqi Army soldiers traveling with his unit had killed the five men near the car, and that he had yelled at them to stop, to no avail.

Now Dela Cruz says that Frank told him to lie about the incident and blame it on the Iraqi Army. It sounds like Dela Cruz may have been the one who originally made this story up. According to other testimony on Friday,

Another witness on Friday, Staff Sgt. Justin Laughner, a member of a Marine intelligence unit that inspected the scene of the Haditha killings, said Sergeant Wuterich had told him the men had run from the car when they were shot.

Sergeant Laughner also said squad members had been worried that the car could have been carrying a bomb.

[RedRover]

As a minor curiosity, I have a pdf of the Dela Cruz polygraph examination here. Unfortunately, we don't have the full context because we don't have the statements he made to investigators.

[Girlene]

More info from North County Times about Dela Cruz's testimony Witness alleges Wuterich wanted to 'kill everybody'

[snip] The Marine officer presiding over the hearing, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, also questioned Dela Cruz in an attempt to clarify some of his conflicting statements.

"Did you think you could provide false information?" Ware asked about statements Dela Cruz now says are untrue.

"That was our plan, sir," Dela Cruz said.

"Did you have a version of facts you were going to say?" Ware asked.

"Just lie in general," Dela Cruz responded. [snip]

Now if I recall correctly, Dela Cruz claimed Frank told him to lie and had a specific story - that the Iraqi Army had shot them when they were running away. But according to this transcript, Dela Cruz is telling the judge in the hearing that their "plan" was just to lie in general. He can't keep his facts or his lies or whatever he's saying straight. I think the judge (IO) is going to figure this out. He seems to be able to cut through a lot of bad info and hone in on the facts.