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Judicial Watch has obtained new information indicating that the U.S. government is likely covering up a scandal involving an Army sergeant who apparently took a controversial anti-malaria drug—in contradiction to guidelines—before going on a rampage in Afghanistan. The 39-year-old married father of two, Sergeant Robert Bales, was on his fourth deployment in a decade when he attacked and murdered 16 Afghan civilians (initial reports said it was 17) on March 11, 2012. Judicial Watch immediately launched an investigation and obtained documents from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that raised huge suspicions that Bales may have been given the anti-malaria...

In a plea agreement revealed on Thursday, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales has agreed to plead guilty to the killing of 16 Afghan Civilians last year. Bales hopes to avoid the death penalty with the deal. The plea hearing is set for June 5th and the deal has yet to be accepted by the presiding judge. The deal requires SSgt Bales to present a full account of the murders he committed and prove to the presiding judge that he clearly understands the consequences of the charges against him and of the plea deal. If the plea deal is accepted the sentencing...

US SOLDIER Robert Bales, who killed 16 Afghan civilians during a rampage in Kandahar last year, will escape the death penalty by pleading guilty to murder. ... Sixteen people, mainly women and children, were killed in two villages near the base during the rampage. Some of the bodies were piled up and set on fire. ... Last month, AP spoke to locals in the villages that Bales terrorised. "Relatives of the victims became outraged at the notion Bales might escape the death penalty," it said. One man, Mohammed Wazir, who lost 11 family members including his mother and two-year-old daughter...

The Army staff sergeant charged with slaughtering 16 villagers in one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war will plead guilty to avoid the death penalty in a deal that requires him to recount the horrific attack for the first time, his attorney told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

John Henry Browne, the attorney for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, the man accused of single-handedly massacring 17 Afghan villagers, is now accusing the United States government of “an almost complete information blackout” which is blocking him from preparing a proper defense for Bales. Browne alleges that he and his legal team has been prevented from being able to interview the witnesses to the tragic incident as well as the injured civilians in southern Afghanistan. ... “We are facing an almost complete information blackout from the government, which is having a devastating effect on our ability to investigate the charges preferred...

An attorney for the US soldier accused of 17 counts of murder after a shooting spree in Panjwai, Afghanistan has acknowledged that Robert Bales is likely to face capital charges. Do you think Bales should face the death penalty?

The United States has paid $50,000 in compensation for each Afghan killed in the shooting spree attributed to a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official and a community elder said Sunday. The families of the dead received the money Saturday at the governor's office, said Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai. Each wounded person received $11,000, Lalai said. Community elder Jan Agha confirmed the same figures. They were told that the money came from U.S. President Barack Obama, Lalai said. [Snip] The families had previously received smaller compensation payments from Afghan officials -- $2,000 for each death...

In an exclusive interview, Matt Lauer will sit down with Karilyn Bales, the wife of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the soldier accused of killing 17 civilians in two southern Afghanistan villages. This will be Karilyn Bales’ first television interview since her husband was charged with murder. The interview will air Monday, March 26 on TODAY and NBC Nightly News.

WASHINGTON – U.S. investigators believe the U.S. soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians split the slaughter into two episodes, returning to his base after the first attack and later slipping away to kill again, two American officials said Saturday. This scenario seems to support the U.S. government's assertion -- contested by some Afghans -- that the killings were done by one person, since they would have been perpetrated over a longer period of time than assumed when Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was detained March 11 outside his base in southern Afghanistan. But it also raises new questions about...

The charges offered few details of what happened that night.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will be charged with 17 counts of murder and six counts of assault and attempted murder related to a March 11 shooting spree in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. The charges are expected to be announced Friday. The official could not explain why the count is now 17, when 16 have been reported killed in the incident. Bales' lawyer, John Henry Browne, told CNN that he did not respond to leaks and that he would not comment before seeing the charges against his client.

Karilyn Bales, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of killing Afghan civilians, released this statement on Monday: What happened on the night of March 11 in Kandahar Province was a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy. My family including my and Bob’s extended families are all profoundly sad. We extend our condolences to all the people of the Panjawai District, our hearts go out to all of them, especially to the parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents of the children who perished. I know that all good people around the world, regardless of nationality, religion or political values, join me in...

SEATTLE (AP) -- A former platoon leader for the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians says the allegations are "100 percent out of character" for the man, whom he described as a "very solid" noncommissioned officer who has saved other soldiers' lives. Army Capt. Chris Alexander was Robert Bales' platoon leader during a deployment to Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the Army soldier who is set to be charged in the mass murder of 16 Afghan civilian men, women and children, spent the weekend in pretrial isolation as military prosecutors prepared a case that may carry the death penalty. Staff Sgt. Bales, 38 years old, was brought to the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., late Friday to await the charges, which military officials said could come sometime this week. Meanwhile, a Seattle-based criminal attorney retained to defend Staff Sgt. Bales traveled to Kansas Sunday and planned to meet Monday with the soldier. Staff Sgt. Bales...

Senior US officials told the BBC the name of the suspect as he was heading back to the US to face charges. He is being flown to Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, from Kuwait. His lawyer, John Henry Browne, said on Thursday that the suspect was a 38-year-old man who had been injured twice while serving in Iraq. He also said the accused had witnessed his friend's leg blown off the day before the killings. That incident has not been confirmed by the US Army. The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of Sunday's deadly rampage - in which...

June 2 Dr. William Bales - Open Line Former Presbyterian Minister Dr. William Bales, a Senior Fellow of The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is a Professor of Sacred Scripture at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from The Catholic University of America and a Master's degree in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he concentrated in Old Testament studies. Dr. Bales is also one of the founders of the National Association of Catholic Home Educators. He and his wife Lisanne have six children and live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. St....