|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
January 30th,
2007 - Attorney: Haditha Leak Could Lead to Dismissal Request |
|
Attorney: Haditha Leak Could
Lead to Dismissal Request By William Finn Bennett North County Times January 30, 2007 10:09 AM PST The leak of a detailed
report into the killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005 may have a
wide-ranging impact on the prosecutions of eight Camp Pendleton-based troops
charged in the incident, a longtime military attorney said Monday. Depending on the outcome of
the investigation, "a lot of legal motions will be filed to dismiss the
charges," because the leaks and their press coverage could make it
difficult for the defendants to obtain a fair trial, said Jane Siegel, a
retired Marine Corps attorney. The attorney, who now works
in private practice in San Marcos, is representing another Marine who
recently pleaded guilty for his role in the death of an Iraqi policeman in
the village of Hamdania. According to news reports,
initially seen in the Washington Post, the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service document is thousands of pages long and contains interviews with
Marines and Iraqi villagers who allegedly witnessed the attack. The report
also included many gruesome photographs of the victims. A spokesman for Marine Corps
Headquarters in Washington said Monday that the service's Inspector General's
office has received a request from Lt. Gen. James Mattis to find the source
of the leak. Mattis is the convening authority over the Haditha case as
commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command and Camp Pendleton's I
Marine Expeditionary Force. The spokesman, Capt. Jay
Delarosa, said it's not immediately clear when the investigation will start. Siegel said that if the
source of the leak turns out to be someone in the military "that person
could be subject to a court martial for obstruction of justice or impeding a
trial." If it turns out the person
who leaked the information is a civilian, the Marine Corps Inspector
General's office could only ask, not force, that person to talk with Marine
investigators, Siegel said. The office could refer the matter to a U.S.
attorney's office for a decision on whether to pursue a case against that
person, she said. Jack Zimmerman, an attorney
representing Haditha defendant Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, said that regardless
of who leaked the information, "I would want to see the fullest measure
of sanctions available be applied." He declined to state whether
he plans to file a motion, saying he didn't want to discuss his strategy. In a Jan. 6 Washington Post
story, the newspaper cited testimony from a massive investigation report by
the NCIS - a report that was leaked to the Post by an undisclosed source. The
witnesses allegedly said they had seen Marines gun down five men who were
standing next to a taxi near the site of a roadside bomb explosion that left
one of 13 Marines in a convoy dead on Nov. 19, 2005. According to news reports,
after the alleged shooting of the men in the taxi, the Marines in the convoy
stormed several nearby homes in search of what they said they believed were
insurgents. None were found, but by the time the smoke had cleared, another
19 people were dead. Charges ranging from
unpremeditated murder to negligent homicide were filed last month against
four enlisted men in Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in
connection with the deaths. Four officers have also been charged with
dereliction of duty and related offenses for the way they handled the initial
investigation. The eight men are with Camp
Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The enlisted men are: Tatum,
25; Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 26; Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, 24; and Lance Cpl.
Justin Sharratt, 22. The officers are: Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 43; Capt.
Randy Stone, 34; 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, 25; and Capt. Lucas McConnell, 31. Siegel said that defense
attorneys for the accused may be right when they complain that it will be
difficult for their clients to get a fair trial as a result of the leak and
the resulting press coverage. She said that when such a
story comes out, it is immediately picked up by Internet bloggers, and
military personnel around the world see it. "And people assume that
what is in the newspaper is true when it comes from a very credible source
like the Washington Post," Siegel said. Mattis is to be commended
for calling for the investigation, she said. "It shows real
sensitivity on his part, trying to maintain the bright light of
fairness," for these defendants, Siegel said. A Washington-based attorney
who specializes in military justice had a slightly different take on the
effects of the leak. "It's premature to say
this will scuttle the prosecution," said Gene Fidell, who also serves as
president of the Washington thinktank National Institute of Military Justice. Officials with the
organization say that it is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the fair
administration of military justice and fostering improved public
understanding of the military justice system. "The real question is
whether the affected individuals can obtain a fair trial and the military
justice system has a variety of protections," Fidell said. One option is a change of
venue, another is the right to examine potential jurors and "find out if
they are indeed impartial or exposed to prejudicial pretrial publicity and if
so get rid of them," he said. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/30/military/1_00_551_29_07.txt |