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February 1st,
2008 - Corps Subpoenas Outtakes from ‘60 Minutes’ Interview News article by the San Diego
Union-Tribune |
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Corps Subpoenas Outtakes
from ‘60 Minutes’ Interview By Rick Rogers San Diego Union-Tribune February 1, 2008 Camp Pendleton – The Marine Corps
has subpoenaed outtakes from a “60 Minutes” TV interview of Staff Sgt. Frank
Wuterich, who led a group of Camp Pendleton Marines in killing 24 Iraqi
civilians about two years ago. The revelation was made
Friday during a court hearing for Wuterich on the base. Prosecutors have described
the Marines' actions Nov. 19, 2005, in the city of Haditha as a massacre.
Wuterich and a fellow Marine are scheduled for trial on charges such as
voluntary manslaughter, while two officers will be tried for allegedly trying
to cover up the killings. Camp Pendleton officials
said CBS News, which produces “60 Minutes,” has so far refused to turn over
footage taken for the segment about Wuterich. The standoff could lead to a
courtroom showdown on the base in coming weeks. CBS officials declined to
comment yesterday. Wuterich recounted details
of the Haditha incident during the broadcast, which aired March 18, 2007. He
also maintained his innocence, saying he regretted the deaths of civilians
but insisting that they were unavoidable as part of combat between Marines
and insurgents in the area. Wuterich, 27, is charged
with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment,
dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. If convicted during his March
court-martial, he could be sentenced to nearly 161 years in the brig. The Haditha incident began
after a roadside bomb struck a convoy led by Wuterich. The blast killed one of
his men and wounded two others. In the next few hours,
Wuterich and about a half-dozen other Marines used grenades and assault
rifles to kill the civilians – five men who were near the bomb site and 19
men, women and children in some nearby homes. During the Friday hearing,
military judge Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks granted the prosecution's request to
travel to Haditha and interview three children who were in two of the houses
that Marines entered. The prosecutors plan to videotape their testimony. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080201-1343-bn01haditha.html Iraqis to be
questioned in Haditha killings CBS resisting prosecution effort to obtain ‘60 Minutes’ tapes By Mark Walker North County Times February 1, 2008 Camp Pendleton - A military
judge on Friday upheld an order directing prosecutors in the case against
Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to travel to Iraq to interview witnesses in
the 2005 slaying of 24 civilians. The judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey
Meeks, turned aside an argument from Wuterich's attorneys, who said that
motion hearings and preparing for the scheduled March 3 start of their
client's court-martial make an Iraq trip problematic. It was also disclosed during
a hearing at the base that the government is seeking outtakes from a CBS
"60 Minutes" interview of Wuterich broadcast last year. CBS is
resisting a subpoena for those film clips and its attorneys may have to argue
the issue in a Camp Pendleton courtroom. During the interview,
Wuterich gave his account of a roadside bombing that killed a Marine and
injured two others and the subsequent search for the attackers by him and his
squad that resulted in the civilian deaths in Haditha. While expressing regret over
the civilian deaths, Wuterich maintained throughout the interview that he and
his men from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment followed
their training and did nothing wrong. Those killed included
several women and children. At least two children who survived or witnessed
part of the incident are among the Iraqis who prosecutors want to interview. Wuterich's attorneys want
the Iraqis to be brought to the United States or be required to tell their
story during the trial by video hookup. "We want to be able to
confront the witnesses in person and allow the jurors to ask questions,"
one of Wuterich's military attorneys, Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, said after the
hearing. Unlike civilian courts, the military justice system permits jurors
to question witnesses. Prosecutors have said that
the Iraqis refuse to come to the U.S., but have agreed to speak with
attorneys if they traveled to Iraq. It was not immediately clear
Friday if any of Wuterich's five attorneys - three military and two civilian
- will travel to Iraq. His lead attorney, Neal Puckett, said he could not
comment because of security reasons. Three other Marines face
courts-martial this year in connection with the incident. Lance Cpl. Stephen
Tatum is scheduled to stand trial March 28 for two counts of involuntary
manslaughter in the deaths of two children. Tatum also faces charges of
reckless endangerment and aggravated assault. The battalion commander at
Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, faces trial for dereliction of duty for
failing to order an investigation into the deaths. Also facing court-martial is
1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, an intelligence officer who is accused of obstruction
of justice for ordering the destruction of photos of the victims. He also is
accused of making a false official statement. Like Wuterich, all of the
accused maintain their innocence. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/02/news/top_stories/21_19_002_1_08.txt |