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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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February 29th,
2008 - Court-Martial Over CBS Interview Delayed |
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Court-Martial Over CBS
Interview Delayed By Chelsea J. Carter Associated Press February 29, 2008 San Diego - A military
prosecutor has appealed a judge's decision to throw out a subpoena seeking
unaired footage of a CBS News interview given by a Marine squad leader
charged in the killings of 24 Iraqis. The appeal led to the
indefinite postponement of Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich's court-martial,
which had been scheduled to begin March 10, Wuterich's attorney, Mark Zaid,
told The Associated Press on Friday. Marine prosecutor Capt.
Nicholas Gannon has said in court documents that the unaired footage is vital
to the case because it contains admissions by Wuterich of crimes in the
attack in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005. Wuterich "apparently
admits in an unaired segment that he did in fact order his men to 'shoot
first and ask questions later,'" Gannon said in a motion filed in early
February. Military judge Lt. Col.
Jeffrey Meeks ruled last week that prosecutors did not need the CBS footage
to get the evidence they needed. A date has not been set to hear Gannon's
appeal. Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn.,
faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the Haditha deaths, which
happened after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing a Humvee driver
and wounding two other Marines. Wuterich and a squad member
are accused of shooting five men at the scene, after which Wuterich allegedly
ordered his squad into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades
and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians. In the interview aired March
15, 2007, Wuterich recounted to CBS correspondent Scott Pelley his
recollection of the events that led to the deaths. CBS has called the subpoena
"unreasonable and oppressive," and CBS attorneys argued it should
be quashed to prevent potential sources from being reluctant to talk to the
news media. The network had no comment
on the prosecutor's appeal, said Sandra Genelius, a spokeswoman for CBS News,
which is a division of CBS Corp. A telephone call to a Marine
spokesman seeking comment was not immediately returned. Wuterich's attorney, Neal
Puckett, has called prosecutors' effort a "fishing expedition"
because they don't know what is in the unaired footage. "You have to be able to
show (the court) what you are after. Since they don't know what is in it,
they can't make that showing," he said. Four enlisted Marines were
initially charged with murder, and four officers were charged with failing to
investigate the deaths. Charges against four of the men have been dropped,
and none of the others will face murder charges. Still facing court-martial are
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; and 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. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hNUaTPsL6OBHarjCDUGxJ0EYsm9AD8V4AHMG0 |