|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
February 22nd,
2008 - Prosecutors Seek Footage in Haditha Case |
|
Prosecutors Seek Footage in
Haditha Case By Chelsea J. Carter Associated Press February 22, 2008 Camp Pendleton, Calif. -
Military prosecutors say unaired footage of a CBS interview given by a Marine
squad leader contains admissions of crimes in an attack that killed 24 Iraqi
civilians. Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich
"apparently admits in an unaired segment that he did in fact order his
men to `shoot first and ask questions later,'" Capt. Nicholas Gannon
said in response to a motion filed by CBS seeking to quash a subpoena seeking
the footage. CBS is set to ask a military
judge Friday to throw out the subpoena during a pretrial hearing for
Wuterich, who faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the Nov. 19,
2005, deaths in Haditha, Iraq. In its motion, CBS says the
subpoena would be "unreasonable and oppressive," and turn a news
organization into an investigative arm of the government. "This fishing
expedition is particularly inappropriate given the numerous other sources of
information concerning the events underlying this court-martial,"
according to the motion obtained by The Associated Press. The subpoena stems from an
interview aired on March 15, 2007, report on "60 Minutes" entitled
"The Killings at Haditha." In the interview, Wuterich
recounted to CBS News Correspondent Scott Pelley his recollection of the
events that led to the deaths. The deaths occurred after a
roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and
wounding two other Marines. Wuterich and a squad member, Sgt. Sanick Dela
Cruz, allegedly shot five men by a car at the scene. Wuterich then ordered
his squad into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and
gunfire, killing unarmed civilians in the process. The manslaughter charge
against Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., includes specifications of a
personal role in at least nine killings, naming seven victims plus one or
more unknown people, and the allegation that he ordered a lance corporal to
kill someone. In the CBS motion, attorneys
Lee Levine and Seth D. Berlin contend there have been multiple government
investigations into the Haditha incident, and numerous witnesses provided
statements to investigators. California has one of the
nation's most protective statutes shielding journalists from prosecutors'
inquiries. The law generally allows journalists to decline to divulge
unpublished material to state authorities, but the protection does not extend
to federal courts, which include military courts. CBS says testimony is
available from witnesses, including members of Wuterich's squad who are not
being prosecuted. But prosecutors, who have
previously said squad members are "far from cooperative," say it is
apparent to them from Pelley's narration that Wuterich made admissions in
unaired footage. In the response, Gannon
writes that Pelley's questions and his narration are apparently based on
information Wuterich must have provided during the interview. The network had no comment
on the subpoena or the pending hearing, said Sandra Genelius, a spokeswoman
for CBS News, which is a division of CBS Corp. Four enlisted Marines were
initially charged with murder in the case and four officers were charged with
failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against four of the men have been
dropped, and none will face murder charges. Still facing court-martial
are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., who is charged with
dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations that he
mishandled the aftermath of the Haditha shootings; and 1st Lt. Andrew
Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, on charges of making false official statements,
obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently separate from the
Marine Corps. Wuterich is scheduled to be
court-martialed March 3. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hNUaTPsL6OBHarjCDUGxJ0EYsm9AD8UVAVN80 |