MEGYN KELLY: It has been one of the most talked about stories of the Iraq War: the so-called Haditha Massacre. Two dozen Iraqis killed by US Marines. Posted on 10/02/2008 3:42:34 AM PDT by RedRover
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Interview transcript:
MEGYN KELLY: It has been one of the most talked about stories of the Iraq War: the so-called Haditha Massacre. Two dozen Iraqis killed by US Marines.
After the news first broke, Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, a former Marine himself, was quick to condemn the accused Marines, saying they quote “murdered these Iraqis in cold blood”. Take a look at this exchange from MSNBC...
(VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS MATTHEWS: When you say cold blood, Congressman, a lot of people think you‘re basically saying you have got some civilians sitting in a room or out in a field and they‘re executed just on purpose...
MURTHA: That‘s exactly what happened.
MATTHEWS: ...not because the Marines are scared or anybody is scared or the soldiers are scared.
MURTHA: Let me tell you, this was not an action, this was not—at first they tried to say it is an IED. There was no IED involved in this. This was troops who went in—they were so stressed out, they went into houses and killed women and children, 24 people they killed. Now, this is the kind of stuff—this is the kind of stress they‘re under.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: Well, since Murtha made comments like that, nearly all of the Marines in the case have been cleared. In fact, only one of those men is still facing charges. And now, one of those exonerated men is suing Murtha for slander. That Marine, Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt, joins us now. He lives in the district that Congressman Murtha represents.
JUSTIN SHARRATT: Good morning.
KELLY: I know that you are actually the second Marine to file a lawsuit against Murtha for defamation. Tell us why you’re suing him.
SHARRATT: Basically, I just want justice. After he made those comments on national television, it was a very big demoralization factor for myself and the other Marines that were being charged at the time.
KELLY: You’re over there serving the country in Iraq, you have this awful situation where civilians do get killed, that’s not in dispute And then you have charges brought and you’ve got a US congressman, in fact, your US congressman, taking not only to the floor of the House but going on national news organizations and calling you a cold-blooded murderer, what does put you through, what does that put your family through?
SHARRATT: It was a terrible time for myself and my family. When they heard that on the news, their jaws just dropped.
KELLY: Did you expect your congressman, or a former Marine like Murtha, to give you the benefit of the doubt, at least while charges were pending?
SHARRATT: Oh, definitely.
KELLY: And did you ever hear from Congressman Murtha after the charges were dropped? 
SHARRATT: No, I did not.
KELLY: Has he apologized to you, has he in any way reached out to you or any of the other Marines involved in this, that you know of?
SHARRATT: Not in any way, shape, or form.
KELLY: So what do you hope to accomplish with this lawsuit, lance corporal?
SHARRATT: It would restore hope to a lot of the US military, I personally think it would help a lot of civilians in the nation, that way they know that congressmen can’t just go on national television and say whatever they want.
KELLY: We should say to our audience that we reached out to his office for comment, they had none, there was no comment about the pending litigation. I want to ask you, right now he has a campaign flyer up called, “Honoring our troops and veterans is a top priority for John Murtha”. Your reaction to that?
SHARRATT: Personally, I think it’s a joke. How can, one minute, he call his brethren, US Marines, cold-blooded murderers and turn around and say his top priority is to honor the troops.
KELLY: For those not familiar with the Haditha story, and as I said, it’s clear that civilians were killed that day, explain in a nutshell, what actually what down.
SHARRATT: I wish I could, since there’s still one Marine that still has charges pending, he’s pending a court martial, I’d rather not comment on what went on that day.
KELLY: Obviously, you deny the accusation that a quote “murder” took place in any way. And I know you’ve been exonerated now on that charge.
SHARRATT: Yes.
KELLY: Well, lance corporal thank you for being here with us and telling us your story.
SHARRATT: Thank you.
KELLY: And thank you for your service.
____________________________________________________________________
NOTE: By evening, Justin's interview was one of the most highly rated by viewers at FoxNews.com....
Best wishes, Justin, and prayers for you and all your teammates.
Justine did a fine job as did Megyn Kelly, she was straight forward and to the point, no slanted questions.
Thanks for posting this, Red.
The post was my pleasure, boys. I especially liked them hitting Murtha over the “supporting the troops is my top priority” bit. Feels like the tide has irreversibly turned our way.
Our son, Cpl. RushLake, USMC, is on duty in Iraq, and proud to be serving his country.
Indeed. Hence "extant." I find it hard to believe the Marines claim Murtha, although they claim, "There are no former Marines."
You should be proud of your son, and he SHOULD be proud. That's a good thing. I wonder if Murtha's parents were extant whether they would claim to be proud.
Hopefully it has irreversibly turned because it’s about time Murtha is taking some heat over this and he sure has been. Neither he nor his flunkies have had a word to say, they probably think it’ll go away but I think they’re in for a rude awakening. LOL!
I want to thank your son and you for his service, RL. I know you’re proud and you have every right to be!
I hesitate to brag up our son, but we're just so damn proud of him and honored to have all of those young warriors standing in the breach on our behalf.
That’s a great video! It’s the absolute truth but the sorry enemedia will not only not report that truth, they lie and report the opposite.
The only news source I don’t consider being the enemedia is FNC. Though maybe not perfect they do report the truth the majority of the time.
It is nice to see this get some air time on Fox. Now a lot more people will become aware of what Murtha did.
Murtha may yet get a poke in the eye over this. Time will tell.
Don’t really need term limits. We have an all volunteer military. Do something similar for politicians. Once they get elected they don’t get one dime, not one red cent. No pension.
See if anyone is really willing to “Serve” this country instead of “Service” this country.
See if there is anyone out there worth a damn who gives a damn, besides you all.
Man, this guy is really something. I don’t have words to express my feelings towards him and these hitmen that are going along with the rantings of a neophyte that has an ego like Adolph Hitler.
Even them being Dems it’s hard to believe they’d go along with him, I would think they’d have more respect for our Constitution. Every last one of them are doing nothing more than becoming diaper changers for a spoiled brat.
If BO is pulling this kind of stuff now what do you think he’d do with our freedoms should he be elected? I don’t even like to consider that possibility.
There’s an editorial in today’s (Johnstown) Trib-Democrat about the slander suit. Wasn’t sure it warranted its own thread. But at least the paper doesn’t go into a kneejerk defense of Murtha. There’s a link at the top of DOM.
Please tell your son “thank you for his service” I appreciate what he has to sacrifice to serve. From one marine parent to another....Thank you as well.
Thank you for your good wishes. Back to your son and you from this Marine family.
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