Free Republic

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A 19-year-old found dead in his Camp Pendleton barracks had been beaten to death by a fellow Marine, investigators say. Lance Cpl. Mario Arias Jr., from Canoga Park, Calif., was attacked at the San Diego County base over the weekend, authorities said. The air crew trainee, from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, enlisted in August 2010. The Naval Criminal Investigation Service said the suspect is being treated in a hospital for "significant injuries" sustained when he jumped from a third-floor balcony. Ed Buice, spokesman for NCIS...

A Fort Carson soldier will be court-martialed for the murder for an Afghan prisoner, despite claims by his defense attorney that he’s too mentally ill for trial. Pfc. David Lawrence’s case was referred to a general court martial Tuesday by Fort Carson commander Brig. Gen. James Doty. The 20-year-old soldier faces a maximum punishment of life in prison in the Oct. 17 shooting death of an alleged Taliban leader known by the pseudonym Mullah Mohebullah. “The date for the general court martial has not yet been determined,” Fort Carson said in a news release. During a December evidence hearing in...

KILLEEN, Texas — The US Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in a shooting spree on a Texas army base has been ruled sane and thus fit for trial, a source familiar with the case said. The ruling by a group of medical experts, called a sanity board, opens the door for a court martial that could end in the execution of Major Nidal Hasan, who was paralyzed from the neck down during the November 5, 2009 massacre. Neither prosecutors nor retired Army Colonel John Galligan, a veteran military lawyer representing Hasan, 40, would confirm the board's decision.

*snip* Can you just imagine that…driving a couple hundred miles, and the timing to come down and be at his trial…just two people in motion in the universe, and we just crossed paths in that building at that instant in time. Anyway, he said, “Commander Kerchner,” and I said, after looking at who was calling me, “Terry!” It was quite a surprise to meet him that way. We were chit-chatting for a few seconds there, and he said, “I’m pleased to meet you,” and I said, “I’m honored to meet you. I’m here to support you.“ As we were talking...

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin apologized today for forcing the Army to court-martial him over his attempt to compel President Barack Obama to prove his constitutional eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief.

Army doctor disobeyed Afghanistan orders over questions of president's eligibility The court-martial of an Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility for office will continue for a second day in a military court at Fort Meade....frpa

His new lawyer -- who has not been working with us -- convinced Terry that by changing his strategy and abandoning any argument about Obama's eligibility, he would be able to plead for mercy tomorrow when he is sentenced. Terry was able today, and will be able tomorrow, to explain that he was motivated by his concerns about eligibility, but of course by pleading guilty he abandons any opportunity to appeal, and thus any chance that the appellate courts would reverse Judge Lind's rulings. The Lakin case will now never provide an answer to the questions the nation has as...

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney predicts the incoming Republican-controlled House of Representatives will launch an investigation if Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin is convicted in next week's court martial. Lakin is on trial for refusing to obey orders to deploy to Afghanistan. He challenged the orders because he questions President Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. His court martial is scheduled to begin Dec. 14. "It looks like he's not being treated fairly," said McInerney in an interview Friday on Denver talk radio station KHOW. "It's important that he gets a fair trial, which...

Barack Obama loves to portray himself as a compassionate humanitarian. Assuring justice and avoiding unnecessary punishment is such an obsession, he would have us believe, that he opposes detaining those participating in acts of war against the U.S. He even insisted on a civilian trial in New York for the man who confessed to masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks. But Obama's compassion does have its limits. There's one distinguished U.S. Army officer and physician who appears to be headed to prison soon. He hasn't committed any crimes. He has served his country honorably in foreign wars. His reviews by superiors...

"Summary of Support Terry Lakin Day: Rep. Trent Frank Staff; efforts already underway at their DC office to "try to stop the court-martial.10:30 - 11:45 AM - McCain 30 Supporters gathered at John McCain's office on 16th Street in Phoenix. Except for a group of about six that entered the office for about a 10 minute period, all marched and held signs (some photos attached) and American flags on both sides of the street for the entire time. Many drivers honked in agreement as they drove by. The group that entered the office were greeted by McCain staffer Barb Donaldson,...

Lakin’s attorney: Conviction ‘certain December 3, 2010 Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin, a distinguished Army flight surgeon, is “certain” to be convicted of disobeying orders, according to his lawyer, Neil Puckett. LTC Lakin will go on trial December 14 for refusing to deploy with his unit to Afghanistan. The senior officer questioned the legal validity of his orders because they originate ultimately with President Barack Obama, whose eligibility to serve as commander in chief under article II of the U.S. Constitution remains unproven. “Based on the evidence available, his conviction is certain,” Puckett told WND. “He has no affirmative defense for...

Friends and Patriots, The court-martial of LTC Lakin is scheduled to convene on December 14, 2010. The defendant in this case, Colonel Terry Lakin has been recognized by the web site http://www.theconservativemonster.com as its 2010 “Man of the Year.” *snip* The plaintiff in each of these three cases is a present or former U.S. military officer, as follows: 1) Kerchner et al v. Obama et al, CDR Charles Kerchner USNR (ret) plaintiff, Mario Apuzzo Esq., counsel (http://puzo1.blogspot.com ); 2) Rhodes v. McDonald, CPT Connie Rhodes USA (MD, U.S. Army) plaintiff, Dr. Orly Taitz, counsel (http://www.orlytaitzesq.com); 3) Hollister et al v....

Now that the Lakin case has moved away from the guano crazy birther defense devised by Paul Rolf Jensen, it seems time to consider whether LTC Lakin is actually guilty of the charges he faces. As to Charge I and its specification, the answer seems to be, “Not necessarily.” LTC Lakin faces two charges with a total of five specifications. Charge II alleges an Article 92 violation supported by three specifications of disobeying a lawful order and one specification of willful dereliction of duty. (Two pairs of specs appear duplicate one another– one (Spec 3) alleges failure to report to...

There is a code of conduct among military personnel and police officers, which says that if one among them is committing an act that is wrong it becomes the duty of the others to speak up. I was not in the military service. I did serve in the ranks and files of law enforcement for twenty years. I understand that code of honor. It was written in the operations manuals of the two agencies in which I worked full-time. In fact, within Colorado it is a felony to not report a peace officer who engages in the commission of certain...

Thanks to a jab from RealityCheck. Let’s parse the current defense information release from LTC Lakin’s defense counsel. His previous civilian attorney complicated his case and is partially responsible for two of these charges by advising LTC Lakin to refuse to report to his superior officer. I posted a while back about the TMLUTB defense.(("Throw the lawyer under the bus (TMLUB) seems to be a current favorite. Whether that will get relief will be a different question. By that defense I mean a “my lawyer (Mr. Jensen) told me the orders were unlawful and that I could disobey them. I...

The Law Firm of Puckett & Faraj, PC, is preparing the defense of LTC Lakin for trial currently scheduled for December 14, 2010 at Fort Meade, MD. LTC Lakin is being charged with missing movement, disobeying orders to report to a new unit, disobeying orders to report to his brigade commander and dereliction of duty. His previous civilian attorney complicated his case and is partially responsible for two of these charges by advising LTC Lakin to refuse to report to his superior officer. The defense team is now working to minimize the damage caused by this inappropriate legal advice and...

The American Patriot Foundation is pleased to announce that LTC Lakin has repositioned his forces, has retained new legal counsel, and is extremely grateful that the Foundation will be dedicating the critical next few weeks before his planned court-martial on November 3-5, to focusing entirely on public affairs, strategic communications/messaging and coalition-building and that their support will continue seamlessly as the new attorney prepares for trial. The website of the Foundation is being re-designed to reflect this new focus and emphasis. Contrary to the impression left by some blogs and internet commentary, LTC Lakin is consistent in continuing on the...

Don't know if it's true, but various sites are reporting that Lakin and his counsel, Paul Jensen, may be parting ways and Lakin may be acquiring an experienced military law counsel If that is true, better late than never. If nothing else, it could pay dividends in the sentencing phase.

NIMJ reported today that the Lakin court-martial has been pushed back to 4 November. According to this report from WUSA, the extra time was granted to “give the defense more time to ask the court of appeals for help.” Considering both the defense’s delay of approximately 25 days before filing the petition for extraordinary relief and the implausibility of obtaining extraordinary relief, it’s quite surprising that Judge Lind would delay the trial on that basis. [We're trying to get a copy of the petition for extraordinary relief, but so far have received no reply to our request to ACCA for...

Lt. Col. Lakin (M.D.- Active Army) -- first asked the Army to affirm that Obama was constitutionally eligible to serve as President, and when his chain of command refused, he then refused to deploy to Afghanistan until "eligibility" was established (to force the issue to a head). Lakin’s argument is simple and direct: a soldier must not be compelled to obey an "unlawful order"; an "ineligible person" cannot serve as President and Commander-in-Chief and, thus, cannot issue "lawful orders." He has thereby laid his liberty and whole career on the line in order to honor his Oath to Support and...

*snip* Today’s statement relates specifically to the ongoing courts-martial of Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin. September 3, 2010 – Upon receiving word that LTC Lakin would be denied any and all access to discovery and mitigating evidence needed to provide for a legitimate defense, a White Paper was prepared and released by The United States Patriots Union and The United States Bar Association, advising the Lakin defense team to immediately adjust its defense strategy in accordance with established history and law concerning Mr. Barack Obama’s constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief. In short, to drop the search for an insignificant birth certificate and...

President Obama signed an Executive Order promulgating the 2010 changes to the Manual for Courts-Martial on August 31, 2010. The covering document is on the White House website, but the text of the changes is still neither there nor on the Federal Register and DoD websites as of 10:45 a.m., Sept. 2, 2010. The amendments take effect on September 30, 2010.

A career officer in the U.S. Army acting as a judge in the prosecution of Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin Court Martial said Lt. Col. Lakin will be denied access to any of Obama’s records as well as any testimony from those who may have access to the records and opening up such evidence could be an “embarrassment” to the president, and it’s up to Congress to call for impeachment of a sitting president. The evidence in question is Barack Hussein Obama’s records, such as his long form Birth Certificate. Barack Hussein Obama ‘claims’ to have been born in Hawaii. A...

Washington, D.C., August 2, 2010. The Army has now referred charges against LTC Terrence Lakin for a General Court Martial. This action triggered the appointment of a Military Judge to preside over the trial, which will likely be scheduled before October, and held in Washington, D.C. at Ft. McNair. On August 6, 2010 at Ft. McNair in Washington, D.C., the court will convene for the purpose of Judge Lind taking Lakin’s plea to the charges which consist of “missing movement” and of refusing to obey orders. Today Lakin stated: “I am not guilty of these charges, and will plead ‘not...

Aug. 2, 2010) — Washington, D.C. — The Army has now referred charges against LTC Terrence Lakin for a General Court Martial. This action triggered the appointment of a Military Judge to preside over the trial, which will likely be scheduled before October, and held in Washington, D.C. at Ft. McNair. On August 6, 2010 at Ft. McNair in Washington, D.C., the court will convene for the purpose of Judge Lind taking Lakin’s plea to the charges which consist of “missing movement” and of refusing to obey orders.

LTC LAKIN (A work in progress – 14June 2010) LTC Lakin is no longer pending an Article 32, UCMJ, hearing, most likely he is pending consideration for a general court-martial. Here is a link to the preferred charges pending against LTC Lakin which will be considered by MG Horst, Commander, Military District of Washington, the general court-martial convening authority. According to a press release from LTC Lakin and others he has waived his right to be present at an Article 32, UCMJ, hearing. The command could proceed with the hearing anyway. There have been times when an accused waives the...

Yesterday I wrote about and linked to MGen. Paul Vallely's comments about Obama, and the doubts he has about Obama's background and Constitutional eligibility to serve as Commander in Chief. Gen. Vallely also commented on LTC Terry Lakin's challenge to Obama's "natural born" status, and Lakin's impending hearing and possible court-martial. Responding to a caller during a radio interview Tuesday night, Gen. Vallely said, "Lt. Col. Lakin's Article 32 investigation is absolutely critical. The fix is on... basically the woman judge has disallowed any discovery on the legitimacy of Obama."The caller, who said he had seven years of military law,...

Court-Martial Military Defense Under UCMJ LTC LAKIN (A work in progress)Note, there are some areas of Article 32, UCMJ, practice where I am rooting for LTC Lakin. a. Production of evidence in accordance with R.C.M. 405(f)(10). Recently I had an interesting experience of both the IO and GR cheerfully IMHO admitting that they’d done nothing in response to my request for information from NCIS basing that on the fact it couldn’t be done. Although they cheerfully IMHO admitted that they’d not asked. The NCIS agent testified it would have taken a “couple of days” to provide the information. And the...

"Press Release: Army Schedules Formal Hearing ARMY SCHEDULES FORMAL HEARING IN CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST DECORATED ARMY PHYSICIAN BEING COURT-MARTIALLED FOR REFUSING TO OBEY ALL ORDERSAT REQUEST OF DEFENSE COUNSEL, HEARING NOW TO PROCEED ON JUNE 11, 2010 Washington, D.C., May 12, 2010. The Army has now officially scheduled a formal hearing its case against Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, who is being court-martialled by the Army for refusing to obey orders to deploy to Afghanistan because the President refuses --even in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary-- to prove his eligibility under the Constitution to hold office. It will...

The just-concluded military trials of three exonerated Navy SEALs showed the terrorism suspect at the center of the case to be one of the most dangerous men in Iraq. Ahmed Hashim Abed initially was described as the insurgent who planned the killings of four Blackwater security guards in Fallujah in 2004, with two of their charred bodies infamously hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. But the three SEALs who captured Abed — and were court-martialed afterward — nabbed a far more notorious figure, according to trial testimony and an intelligence report. Abed is thought to have committed a...

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) ― A military jury began deliberations Thursday in the court-martial of a Navy SEAL accused of punching a suspected Iraqi terrorist. Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, 24, of Perrysburg, Ohio, is accused of assaulting Ahmed Hashim Abed, who is suspected of plotting the 2004 slayings of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah.

If you have been keeping up with the efforts of Americans across the country on the ineligibility issue of Obama, you will have undoubtedly heard about the serious situation involving Lt Colonel Terry Lakin. I had posted his video in a previous article.The latest update as of this writing is that the US Army is going to proceed with a Court Martial against him. He has been reassigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center but stripped of the right to practice medicine. His computer has been seized. He was also on track to be promoted to full Colonel which of...

In a story you won’t see on MSNBC, for the second time in 2 days, a Navy SEAL was acquitted of charges in the infamous terrorist-with-a-fat-lip case. After a day-long trial, a Navy judge took 2 hours to come back with a verdict of not guilty of dereliction of duty for Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe of Yorktown, Va. No word on what the judge did for the other hour and 58 minutes he spent in chambers after giving the evidence the consideration it deserved. The judge, a model of decorum, managed not to use the words “insane,” “bulls**t,”...

BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. military judge on Friday cleared a Navy SEAL of any wrongdoing in the alleged beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors. The Blackwater contractors' burned bodies were dragged through the streets and two were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates river in the former insurgent hotbed of Fallujah in an attack that shocked Americans and galvanized U.S. support for the war. After a daylong trial and fewer than two hours considering the evidence, Navy Judge Cmdr. Tierny Carlos found Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe...

<p>A U.S. military jury has cleared a Navy SEAL in an abuse case involving an Iraqi prisoner accused of masterminding an attack that left four Blackwater security contractors dead.</p> <p>1st Petty Officer Julio Huertas, 28, was the first of three Navy SEALs to go on trial for the alleged assault. He was not accused of abusing the prisoner but of failing to safeguard him and attempting to influence the testimony of another service member.</p>

A decorated Army doctor who defied orders that he deploy to Afghanistan in order to use his court-martial to determine whether President Obama was born in the United States has chosen the wrong venue to make his case, military lawyers told FoxNews.com. SNIP One military attorney said Lakin had advice from a lawyer, Paul Rolf Jensen, but that Jensen had “only three months' experience in military law as a clerk in the 1980s” and was not an expert in military law. Jensen did not return a phone call seeking comment, but military experts called Lakin's effort a tragedy and waste....

A U.S. military judge has cleared a Navy SEAL of wrongdoing in the alleged beating of a prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors in Iraq. The military says the judge found insufficient evidence to convict Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe on charges of dereliction of duty.

<p>Military Justice: The first of three Navy SEALs charged with abusing a captured jihadist has been cleared. Why has this administration taken the word of terrorists and let American heroes twist in the wind?</p> <p>The acquittal of Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, 29, of Blue Island, Ill., by a six-member U.S. military jury in Baghdad on Thursday is good news and the correct verdict.</p>

Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin was charged today with four violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) under Articles 87 and 92. (Chargesheet at the link in PDF format.)

U.S. military officials tell NBC News that the U.S. Army will court martial a lieutenant colonel who refuses to deploy to Afghanistan because he considers orders from President Obama to be "illegal." Army doctor Lt. Col. Terry Lakin believes Obama does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president and commander-in-chief

The axe appears to be falling on an Army officer who is refusing to deploy to Afghanistan until Barack Obama proves he is eligible to serve as president.

Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin released the text of his letter asking President Obama to make public documents proving his eligibility to serve as president.

A Greeley native and U.S. Army official has vowed to disobey orders to deploy to Afghanistan until President Barack Obama produces proof he was born in the United States. Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, who was born in Greeley and graduated from University High School, is asking Obama on an Internet video posted this week to furnish a birth certificate. “For the first time in all my years of service to our great nation, and at great peril to my career and future, I am choosing to disobey what I believe are illegal orders, including an order to deploy to Afghanistan...

Washington, D.C., March 30, 2010. “I am today compelled to make the distasteful choice to invite my own court martial, in pursuit of the truth about the president’s eligibility under the constitution to hold office”, said active duty Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin. The American Patriot Foundation, a non-profit group incorporated in 2003 to foster appreciation and respect for the U.S. Constitution, immediately announced it has set up a legal defense fund and will provide Lt. Col. Lakin with a top-flight defense team. Details are available on the foundation’s website, www.safeguardourconstitution.com. Article II, sec. 1 of the U. S. Constitution...

DECORATED ARMY PHYSICIAN REFUSES ALL MILITARY ORDERS BECAUSE PRESIDENT REFUSES TO DOCUMENT HIS CONSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Court Martial Likely, Legal Defense Fund Established Washington, D.C., March 30, 2010. “I am today compelled to make the distasteful choice to invite my own court martial, in pursuit of the truth about the president’s eligibility under the constitution to hold office”, said active duty Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin. The American Patriot Foundation, a non-profit group incorporated in 2003 to foster appreciation and respect for the U.S. Constitution, immediately announced it has set up a legal defense fund and will provide Lt. Col. Lakin...

Military: Two U.S. congressmen take the lead in proclaiming the obvious — that those who attack this country should be punished and not those who risk their lives to defend it. The Navy SEALs are a special breed of patriot and warrior. This highly trained and select group — the best of the best — is a daily participant in the long twilight struggle against the enemies of freedom that President Kennedy warned us about. Kennedy formally created the SEAL (sea, air, land) outfit as an elite force capable of combat operations in any environment. It was a team of...

The military has canceled the deposition of an alleged terrorist mastermind who claimed that he was assaulted by the military following his capture last year. The law firm Puckett and Faraj, representing Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe, made the announcement on Sunday. Major General Charles Cleveland, the convening authority for the upcoming special courts-martial for three of the Navy SEALs involved in the operation, has decided to cancel the trip to Iraq to depose Ahmed Hashim Abed. Since the SEALs have a Constitutional right to confront their accuser in court, the alleged terrorist's statements won't be used as evidence for the...

Where would America be without its real-life Jack Bauers -- who risk their lives daily to outwit and outfight real-life evil murderers, to keep our country safe? Yet, the next time we need one, he may be too afraid to run to our aid -- in fear not of a murderous terrorist madman, but of our own government. Navy SEALs (Sea, Air & Land teams) are the US Navy's premier Special Operations Force, made up of volunteers who go through perhaps the toughest military training in the world. Their skills were most recently displayed to the world in the rescue...

When a small team of Navy SEALs set out to capture one of Iraq's most-wanted terrorists in September, they never dreamed it would go so smoothly. After all, Ahmed Hashim Abed, the suspected mastermind of a 2004 atrocity against U.S. contractors in Fallujah, was holed up in a safe house in Anbar province. Intelligence reports, which identified his location, said he kept a revolver under his pillow.

RICHMOND, Va. - Two Navy SEALs accused in the mistreatment of an Iraqi detainee will be tried in a U.S. military court in Iraq. A military judge at Naval Station Norfolk on Monday moved the courts-martial of Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas to Camp Victory, site of the alleged abuse. The trials are set for April. Keefe and Huertas are accused of trying to cover up after a third SEAL allegedly punched an Iraqi suspected in a 2004 ambush that killed four U.S. security contractors. Prosecutors said they would not bring the...