Posted on 01/31/2007 4:58:36 AM PST by RedRover
hehehe Pigott's
Pink's posts put Pigott in his place.
If Pigott was prejudiced, he'd be a Pigott bigot.
If Pigott was a plumber, he could call his business, Pigott's Spigots.
If Pigott packaged pork, he could call it Pigott's Piglets.
:) yes I toned it down BEFORE I posted it. You should have seen the first draft!
Looks like it is coming down to the good general making a decision. Hopefully after all is weighed in, he will see no reason to carry out any court martial.
I hope you two got some sleep ; )
Yes, I lay there counting piggots being drummed from the Corps until Morpheus claimed me.
LOL. :)
The more I think about this whole case against Lt. Phan, the crazier it sounds. The presiding authority Pigott, starts out the whole process saying something like "Let's touch gloves. Let's do it." Ooooohh. Tough guy.
In the course of the hearing, affadavits are brought forth of three Marines who discount what NCIS official statements said. One NCIS agent actually admits his notes coorberate at least one of these Marine's affadavits. Another NCIS agent who wrote the official statement will not testify because he's in Australia. The authority states he believes NCIS agents are truthful but the Marine witness may be charged with perjury. Huh?
Lt. Phan is accused of assaulting three Iraqi's and making a false statement as to whether one of them was in custody or not. If Phan is found guilty of these assaults, he could face at least 20 years in prison. So far at least four of the Hamdania Marines will face less than 2 years in prison for alleged participation in murder. Huh?
At the end of the hearing, the presiding authority, Pigott, was rolling his eyes, making exaggerated sighs, and making derogatory comments to Cord, the military defense lawyer, as he was making his closing statement. Huh?
When civilian defense attorney, Sheldon, again asked to have certain information made unclassified, this same authority, Pigott, is found screaming at Sheldon. Huh?
Why is Pigott so determined to get Phan?
Is it personal? Is he protecting NCIS from scrutiny in other cases like Hamdania/Haditha? What would this classified information tell about this case, or any other? Is it Lt. Phan's rank since I think he's the highest ranking officer to be charged? Pigott seems to be going above and beyond the call of duty here. I wonder why?
Good questions..
Thats why I wonder if this is the standard attitude. Guilty till proven innocent in a court martial and the Article 32 hearing is nothing more than a process that rarely does anything except rubber stamp the obvious the guys guilty...Court Martial.
I wonder how many Art 32's didn't go to court martial.
The Pendleton 8 are all enlisted. They were shackled and testimony was coerced (and that testimony is now being retracted).
I'm not positive of the timeline, but I believe Phan was only charged after the "shackles" controversy.
Of course, the Hamdania Marines were charged before the Haditha Marines. Personally, I think it's not a fluke that an equal number of officers and enlisted were charged.
Haditha is, after all, their showpiece trial and they had to give the appearance of fairness.
If the percentage was in the 60s or 70s, for instance, it would put the nearly 100% conviction rate at trial into perspective.
But if (as I suspect) nearly all Article 32s go to trial, then it sure looks like the cards are stacked.
BTW, this article, at Defend Our Marines, has conviction rate percentages for all services: "Unequal Justice", US News & World Report.
Maybe one of those "military justice" organizations would know the answer to the Article 32 question.
My simpleton answer is arrogance. Pigott screaming at Sheldon is how he probably communicates to most people. IME and IMO the military do alot of screaming. It's what they know. Also IMO the older, higher ups are drunk with power and maintain an untouchable mentality. He wasn't going to let Sheldon come into his territory and tell him what to do.
Not so simpleton, lil. That sounds right. Of course, too, if Piggie's marching orders were to "get Phan", that would be all the more reason for him to go into snarling Alpha male mode. (Don't try this at home.)
Egads! The Most Secret Plans of the Exalted Inner Circle of the Haditha Ping List is given away in post 55! Our secret handshake and everything! Most focus my Himalayan mind trick and zot that post into oblivion! Pray for me! I'm going into the Purple Screen!
Ha ha! Very funny!
Hey, what's the secret handshake?
< he looks through the smoke of his cigarette suspiciously >
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