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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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March 11th,
2009 - Court-Martial Begins for Marine in Iraqi Civilian Deaths News article from the Los
Angeles Times |
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Court-Martial
Begins for Marine in Iraqi Civilian Deaths By Tony Perry Los Angeles Times March 11, 2009 A court-martial at Camp Pendleton
begins today for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the last defendant in the
November 2005 deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Wuterich is charged
with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty in
the deaths of two women and five children. Wuterich, the squad leader,
allegedly gave the order for Marines to "clear" houses after a
roadside bomb killed one Marine and injured two. Eight Marines were initially
charged in the incident. Cases against six have been dropped, and one was
found not guilty. The Marine Corps is seeking
to reinstate charges against one of those initially charged, Lt. Col. Jeffrey
Chessani, the battalion commander. Three senior officers were reprimanded for
not investigating the incident more thoroughly. The military only launched an
investigation after a magazine account disputed the initial version of the
killings offered by the Marine Corps. External link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/03/court-martial.html First Amendment argued in
Wuterich case Judge to rule Thursday if prosecutors get unaired CBS Haditha tapes By Mark Walker North County Times March 11, 2009 Camp Pendleton - There is no
First Amendment protection for journalists in the military justice system and
thus CBS should hand over all its material from an interview with a Marine
who led his men in the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians, a prosecutor is asserting. The prosecutor, Marine Capt.
Nicholas Gannon, wants the judge presiding over the manslaughter case of
Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to order the network to hand over unaired portions
of its 2007 "60 Minutes" interview with Wuterich. Gannon argued that because
there is no case law that extends newsgathering protections to journalists in
military court matters, the unaired portions and anything else Wuterich said
or did off camera should be disclosed. "The question is
unresolved on reporter privilege and it's not for this court to decide,"
Gannon told the judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, during a court hearing
Wednesday. Wuterich is charged with
nine counts of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless
endangerment and obstruction of justice. The charges stem from him leading
his squad of Camp Pendleton Marines in an assault after a Nov. 19, 2005,
bombing in the Iraqi city of Haditha that killed one of his men. The assault resulted in the
deaths of men, women and children, none of whom were later proven to have any
ties to the bombing or the Iraqi insurgency. Meeks is expected to rule
Thursday morning on whether the portions of the "60 Minutes"
interview that weren't broadcast contain anything relevant. CBS asserts they don't and
maintains that any off-camera statements Wuterich made to its reporter, Scott
Pelley, also shed no new light. Network attorney Carl
Benedetti told Meeks a wide range of federal court case law protects
journalists from being compelled to disclose all of their work product.
Forcing the network to give prosecutors all its work on the Wuterich story
violates that protection, he said. "This case does involve
reporter privilege," Benedetti said. "This is a constitutional
issue and freedom of the press is important. The First Amendment isn't
novel." The network did not oppose
an appellate court ruling that directed Meeks to review the unaired material
in private. At the end of Wednesday's court session, Benedetti handed the
judge eight compact discs containing about four hours of material the network
did not broadcast. CBS had fought against
having to give up anything, agreeing with Meeks' ruling last year that the
prosecution was on a "fishing expedition." Prosecutors appealed
that finding, resulting in the appellate court directive and the network
agreeing to let the judge alone see the tapes because it believes he will
rule they contain nothing helpful for the government. Numerous news organizations,
including The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, filed briefs in
support of CBS when the issue went to appellate court. That group's legal
defense director, Gregg Leslie, said the Wuterich case demonstrates that
newsgathering protection should be part of military law. "This case shows what
the media's role is," he said. "When allegations like those against
Staff Sgt. Wuterich arise and the true story isn't getting out through
military channels, people should feel free to be able to come to the
media." The prosecution's efforts,
he said, shows the government "really is on a fishing expedition." "They just want to cast
their nets as widely as they can and that does affect the independence of the
media and shouldn't be allowed," Gregg said. Michelle Lindo McCluer at
the National Institute of Military Justice said she believes the media should
be able to gather information without fear of it being used in ways that
would lead to others being afraid to tell their stories to reporters. Wuterich attended the
hearing, but only spoke in response to routine procedural questions from the
judge. Thursday's ruling will be
one of Meeks' last acts in the Wuterich case. He is retiring and the work
required for a new judge to get up to speed could delay the trial for months,
according to Lt. Col. Patricio Tafoya, one of Wuterich's five attorneys. Four Camp Pendleton officers
and four enlisted men were charged with crimes at Haditha. All but Wuterich
and the battalion commander at Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, have since
been exonerated. Chessani, accused of
dereliction of duty for not ordering a full-scale probe of the killings, is
waiting for an appellate court ruling on whether dismissal of charges against
him should stand. External link: http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/03/11/military/z51a0eef9b7c9fc2e882575760053fbf3.txt |