ANN ARBOR, MI – Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, will be arraigned in a Camp Pendleton courtroom on Friday, November 16, 2007, at 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time almost two years to the date of the anniversary of the so-called “Haditha Massacre.”
Chessani faces criminal charges that he failed to properly report and investigate a possible “law of war” violation stemming from a November 19, 2005, house-to-house battle involving four Marines from LtCol Chessani’s battalion. If convicted, LtCol Chessani faces 2 ½ years imprisonment, dismissal (dishonorable discharge) from the Marine Corps, and loss of all retirement benefits.
The Thomas More Law Center is representing LtCol Chessani alongside the detailed military defense lawyers. LtCol Chessani is a 20 year veteran and the father of 5 young children (expecting a sixth shortly), who served in the Panama Invasion, the Persian Gulf War, and three tours in Iraq, including the Second Battle of Fallujah.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “Every patriotic American has a stake in the outcome of this case. A U.S. Army Colonel and an Army General conducted two separate investigations, and came to the same conclusion: there was no ‘massacre’ and no ‘cover-up.’ Yet the government still pursued a multi-million dollar investigation in order to appease an anti-war politician and the ‘blame America first’ media. Now, we have the absurd situation of LtCol Chessani being charged with failing to report and investigate a crime that never occurred. Every American should be outraged at the way this dedicated Marine and his family are being treated by the nation he so loyally defended.”