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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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September 2nd,
2009 - ‘60 Minutes’ Loses Appeal in Wuterich Case |
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‘60 Minutes’ Loses
Appeal in Wuterich Case Court rejects claim of reporter privilege for unaired portions of
interview By Mark Walker North County Times September 2, 2009 A military appeals court has
ruled against CBS in a battle over unaired portions of a "60
Minutes" interview with a key figure in the 2005 slaying of 24 Iraqis in
the city of Haditha. The U.S. Navy-Marine Corps
Court of Appeals rejected the network's claim of reporter privilege in its
battle with Marine Corps prosecutors who want access to the outtakes of Staff
Sgt. Frank Wuterich's interview. Wuterich is charged with
nine counts of voluntary manslaughter and related offenses in the incident
that was triggered by a roadside bombing that killed one Marine and injured
two others. His case has been on hold while the network and prosecutors
battle over the interview's outtakes. In a ruling issued Aug. 31,
the court turned aside a CBS argument that the First Amendment provides
reporter privilege that would allow the network to refuse to share the
outtakes, which prosecutors contend could contain material that would help them
prove their case. A military judge at Camp
Pendleton had ruled three of eight interview segments were relevant and said
the judge's ruling that quashed a subpoena for that material was
inappropriate. The network can appeal to
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which last year directed the
military judge to review the outtakes in chambers before deciding if they
were relevant. After doing so, the judge, now retired Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks,
quashed the subpoena, prompting prosecutors to appeal. Calls to CBS attorneys to
see if they plan to fight the ruling were not immediately returned. Wuterich's case is not
expected to be back in court at Camp Pendleton until sometime late this year
or early next year. A CBS appeal of this latest ruling could delay it even
further. Wuterich headed a 3rd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment squad from Camp Pendleton that was attacked
and stormed a series of homes adjacent to the bombing in a hunt for their
attackers. Four men who emerged from a car immediately after the bombing and
19 others, including several women and children, were among those slain
inside the homes the Marines assaulted. Wuterich is the only man
still facing criminal charges. Cases brought against three other enlisted men
were dropped. Three officers accused of offenses related to failing to
investigate the killings had charges dismissed and a fourth was exonerated at
trial. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/article_a6804420-f820-559f-b872-c4257412f24c.html |