“If you don’t consider Mannle a lead investigator, you’ll have to explain why she was assigned to interview crucial witnesses, for starters.”
How about ... she wasn’t - At the house she was tasked with interviewing anyone IF they found someone and they expected not not find anyone - hardly “crucial”.
With Sharratt she was tasked with reading others questions and taking down answers, and as you say NOT deviating in any way.
With Kallop she assisted at the end, whatever that means.
Someone was telling her what to do and when to do it.
Even when they asked her about titling Sharratt, she has to explain “ Well, I didn’t decide to title anybody, me myself.”
Q. Would that have affected your recommendation as regards to the titling decision?
So, it appears she makes a reccomendation ( as other co-case agents might do ) and someone else makes the decision - fit’s being an office manager.
“Her supervisor, SA Cranfill, considered himself a team coordinator. His own testimony ...”
Got Link ?
So you maintain the case agent for the Haditha investigation is not a lead investigator.
You do realize that Mannle conducted more than one interview with LCpl Sharratt. The interview she conducted for the Army is irrelevant to her status within NCIS.
Her supervisor measured walls in house 4. Does that make him a flunky, too?
Mannle only mentions one co-case agent. “But,” she says, “most of the responsibilities were with me at our headquarters in terms of the writing and briefing of the case.”
And that was after the actual investigatory work was complete.