Posted on 02/21/2008 2:46:41 AM PST by RedRover
Marines balking at orders to testify against men they served with, prosecutor says
CAMP PENDLETON -- Prosecutors continue to encounter problems in the prosecution of a group of Camp Pendleton Marines charged in the 2005 slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha.
During two court hearings Wednesday, defense attorneys challenged the validity of the charges and a prosecutor said that some Marines ordered to testify against the defendants are not cooperating.
The prosecutor, Capt. Nicholas Gannon, told a military judge that several of those Marines are angry at the order compelling their appearance.
"They are grudging witnesses," Gannon said. "There are a lot of inconsistencies in their testimony."
Gannon's comment came during a hearing for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who faces nine counts of involuntary manslaughter and related charges when his case goes to court-martial on March 3.
His attorneys are in court this week arguing several motions, including two that seek to have the charges dismissed.
Wuterich faces nine counts of involuntary manslaughter and related charges.
One of the men ordered to testify against Wuterich is Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, who is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of two children and faces his own court-martial beginning March 28.
Gannon told the military judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, that repeated attempts to interview Tatum since he was ordered to cooperate with the prosecution have been unsuccessful.
In a sign of further court battles ahead, Wuterich's lead attorney, Neal Puckett, told Meeks that Tatum may not testify at all, prompting the judge the question whether Tatum may be charged with failure to follow an order requiring his testimony.
Meeks issued one ruling favoring the defense Wednesday, saying he would limit the use of graphic photos of the slain Iraqis.
On Friday, Wuterich's defense attorneys are due in court again to argue, along with a lawyer from the CBS network, that outtakes of a "60 Minutes" interview with Wuterich broadcast last year should not be turned over to the government. The prosecution has subpoenaed the network for those tapes.
Wuterich and some attorneys in the case were absent from court on Wednesday. The defense attorneys who were present would say only that his absence was authorized by the judge. They and military prosecutors refused to confirm whether Wuterich and the other attorneys were in Iraq pursuing witness testimony.
In previous court hearings, attorneys have argued that such a trip was necessary because Iraqi survivors of the Haditha confrontation refuse to come to the U.S. to testify but would speak to investigators if they came to them.
In a nearby courtroom, attorneys for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani also battled with prosecutors on a series of motions in advance of his April 28 court-martial. Chessani was the battalion commander at Haditha and faces court-martial on charges of dereliction of duty and failing to accurately report and thoroughly investigate a possible war crime.
His attorneys are expected to ask their judge today to compel U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., to answer their questions about who briefed him about the Haditha incident.
Murtha created a firestorm when he appeared on several TV news shows shortly after the Haditha incident came to light in early 2006 and said the Marines had gone on a rampage and "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
On Wednesday, Chessani's attorneys also asked the judge, Col. Steven Folsom, to dismiss the charges, saying he has been targeted unfairly. Chessani reported the civilian deaths to higher-ups who determined no investigation was necessary, attorney Robert Muse said.
"Everyone throughout the chain of command knew what happened, yet Colonel Chessani is the only one being prosecuted," Muse said.
Eight Marines were charged in the wake of the Nov. 19, 2005, civilian deaths that came after a roadside bombing destroyed one of four Humvees in a resupply convoy, killing one Marine and injuring two others. Charges have since been dropped against four, leaving Wuterich and Tatum facing trial for the deaths and Chessani and 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson facing trial for alleged reporting failures in the aftermath.
Wuterich led the convoy squad and directed the Marines in an assault of nearby homes that led to 19 of the Iraqi deaths, including several women and children. Five men who emerged from a car moments after the bombing also were killed.
“In a sign of further court battles ahead, Wuterich’s lead attorney, Neal Puckett, told Meeks that Tatum may not testify at all, prompting the judge the question whether Tatum may be charged with failure to follow an order requiring his testimony.”
So they’ve ordered him to testify against another marine knowing his testimony will be used against him when his trial starts.
These aren’t trails, they are debacles and witch hunts. The only crime is what is being done to these marines.
I hope gannon chokes on the bile he is using to prosecute these soldiers.
I suggest Gannon would be better utilized searching for IEDs.
Murtha created a firestorm when he appeared on several TV news shows shortly after the Haditha incident came to light in early 2006 and said the Marines had gone on a rampage and "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
I would venture to say that Murtha, a high ranking political official, is the wellspring of the entire incident. High ranking military officers always endeavor to please the sources of funding for the Department of Defense. The accusations and action against the marines spread like wildfire down the chain of command as a direct result of Murtha's public statements.
IMO, it is imperative to this case to have Murtha testify as to the credibility of the witnesses who gave him cause to falsely accuse our marines!
How can a judge order Tatum to testify and prosecute him for not testifying? Would that not violate his Fifth Amendment privileges?
Seems like it would be pretty easy to get any military member to appear. Give them an order and they show up. Perhaps their commanders are preventing them from appearing???
I read it as they are appearing but aren’t saying what he wants them to. Perhaps he should write their testimony out for them. That seems to be what he wants.
The prosecutors should be lined up against the wall and shot.
“IMO, it is imperative to this case to have Murtha testify as to the credibility of the witnesses who gave him cause to falsely accuse our marines!”
Why? He would only lie. That POS deserves to be strapped to the front end of a Patriot missile. Better yet, a tow target for AA’s to shoot at.
“There are a lot of inconsistencies in their testimony.”
That hasn’t prevented the prosecution from seating other witnesses.
The only crime, here, is the way these Marines are being treated. These armchair field commanders, sitting in their plush offices, far from the action, are subjecting to painstaking scrutiny the decisions made in an instant in the heat of battle, on an ill defined battlefield, against a nearly impossible to identify enemy.
Sorry, this whole process smells to high heaven.
The right and proper path is to dismiss all these trumped up charges, and prosecute Murtha and his ilk for lending aid and comfort to the enemy by bringing specious charges against these front line troops.
Lock and Load.
Don’t you just love it when a lowlife U.S. Representative (Not a Senator) has more power than the POTUS ?..Power to make or break a military investigation?..
Murtha should be put on the stand and grilled, bent, folded and stapled til his ears fall off !..Same fop DOD Winters and his assistant..
As for Marines being ‘compelled’ to testify?..No way, they still have the 5th Amendment to protect them, and probably some have faulty or hazy memories of what happened...
This trial is the legal equivalent of Nifong vs Duke LaCrosse Players...dirty, corrupt, influenced by powerful higher-ups, a mockery of over 250 years of military Rules of Engagement, an abuse of legal power, and a threat to every military person in uniform, and ultimately to every American citizen as more of our Freedoms is torn away...
The charges should be dismissed and DOD Winters should be compelled to write a letter of apology to each of the defendants. In addition, they should receive their combat medals rightfully earned, promoted and given retroactive pay raises since this trial has put all of their careers on hond- another great injustice...
This is clearly "selective prosecution" as the defense has claimed.
Attempting to dissect a combat action and assess culpability really is a gross violation of Trust between our country and our soldiers ONCE it is determined that they were in a firefight with the enemy.
There is no way that anyone could ever understand the split-second decisions made in the midst of trying to stay alive...especially in urban warfare. Even the participants themselves shouldn't be forced to defend themselves based on their memories. Little things, emotions, fears, suspicions, 6th and 7th sense intuitions -- how in the world can a man ever reconstruct that?
This prosecution is an awful violation of Trust, a supreme act of disloyalty toward these men, a stain on the integrity of our nation, and clear evidence that there is an elitist divide between our governmental bureaucracy and the men and women who serve. They do see them as expendable for their own political purposes.
I'm ashamed of Congress, the DoD, the Marine Corps and the nation for what they're doing to these men.
"Grudging witnesses" -- I'm not surprised. NCIS and these prosecutors have, on record by both commission and omission, abused their mandates and forever sullied the positions they hold. We expect differences of opinion and even tactics, but to willfully mis-state and consciously mislead defense witnesses, while giving full credence and value to insurgent propaganda violates the sanctity of the UCMJ and the judicial process.
These cases were brought under political mandate to salve the opprobrium of washed-up, self-aggrandizing policy makers in both the Congress and the Administration. Blaming the hammer for hitting your thumb instead of the nail makes you look foolish and totally inept.
Thanks for the follow-up, Red; maybe we're starting to see a (dim) light down this long, dank, tunnel.
Well, sure - - Chessani was the designated scapegoat.
Thank you.
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