Posted on 05/01/2007 11:50:12 AM PDT by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON -- Prosecutors are withdrawing assault charges filed last year against a Marine officer who commanded a platoon charged in the killing of an Iraqi civilian.
The two criminal charges against 2nd Lt. Nathan Phan will be withdrawn but he will be subject to a lesser, non-judicial administrative proceeding, said Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a Marine Corps spokesman. That could result in an action such as a letter in his file or some other form of minor punishment.
Prosecutors had accused Phan of choking two Iraqi detainees in the village of Hamdania, saying he placed an unloaded pistol against one's mouth and sprayed soda pop in the nose of another, telling the detainee it was acid.
The incidents took place early last year during an attempt to gather intelligence about insurgent activity in an Anbar province region northwest of Baghdad.
The case against Phan arose from actions by him and his platoon a few weeks before the April 26 slaying of a retired Iraqi policeman in the village of Hamdania. The slaying resulted in murder and related charges against eight men from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment that were under his command.
Phan was not present when the slaying took place and had no knowledge of it until it was reported by the slain man's family.
The eight men Phan led in Hamdania were charged last June with the killing; five were convicted in plea agreements. Two months after the eight were charged, the Marine Corps filed three assault charges against Phan, along with a charge of making a false official report.
During a tumultuous hearing in January to determine whether Phan should face trial, several enlisted Marines testified that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service fabricated statements implicating the 26-year-old Sacramento native in the assaults.
The hearing featured drastically conflicting testimony on the assault allegations. There was no testimony to support the charge that Phan ever filed a false official statement. In the latter charge, prosecutors contended he filed a radio report saying a detainee had been released when in fact the man was still in custody.
Following the hearing, Lt. Gen. James Mattis dismissed one of the three assault charges and the false report accusation, but he ordered Phan to face court-martial on two assault charges. Mattis is the convening authority over the case as head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East.
Why Mattis dropped the remaining two charges was not immediately clear Tuesday.
Phan's attorneys have said they believed they would have been successful in showing he was not present when one of the alleged victims was beaten by men under his command, and that the second charge that he pointed an unloaded pistol at another detainee was not a crime.
David Sheldon, Phan's lead attorney, was in court Tuesday morning and not available. Marine prosecutors are forbidden from discussing ongoing cases.
Phan's five-day court session ended with the hearing officer, Lt. Col. William Pigott, shouting at Sheldon. The outburst came after Sheldon said he intended to appeal several of Pigott's rulings and file a complaint over the officer's conduct throughout the hearing.
The Hamdania case is separate from allegations that a different group of Camp Pendleton men murdered two dozen Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha in November 2005. Three enlisted Marines face murder charges in that incident, and four officers are charged with failing to fully report the incident.
The first court hearing in the Haditha case begins next week; one of the officers, Capt. Randy Stone, is due in court for a hearing to determine if dereliction of duties charges against him should stand.
Pigott has been assigned as the hearing officer for that proceeding.
See more on the Phan story in Wednesday's North County Times.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com
Ah. I mentioned Defense counsel Lt. Col. Matthew Cord, previously. Lest I forget, congratulations, also. to Defense counsel Major Jeffrey Muñoz.
From the little I’ve been able to gather, 2nd Lt. Nathan Phan should be very proud of his service. It seemed that his intelligence gathering for the Marines in the area would have, indeed, saved lives.
“His actions saved Marines’ lives and for that he is proud”
And we are proud of his service and his sacrifice. God Bless You Lt. Phan and thank you for your service!
It’s going to be interesting to see if Lt. Col. Pigott will remain the hearing officer for Capt. Stone. If it turns out he isn’t it will be a good sign, IMO.
I'm only dismayed that the NC Times is the only media source in the country covering this case. The NCIS will try to ride out this storm and, with no oversight, has little to fear.
Wonder if the gov’t will delay the hearing now. It wouldn’t surprise me.
There’s a book in this that could sink the NCIS.
I think that’s a good possibility, Red. There’s been nothing in the news that actually says the charges were dropped because of the conduct of Pigott but it’s pretty evident to me that it had a part in it. I believe Sheldons appeal was successful.
I think it’s a big time slap down of Pigott and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him disappear from the upcoming cases. They also may postpone the cases again as you mention.
great news!
Do they delay for another year in hopes that interest will fade away, risking that the investigative corruption - and their treasonous actions to demoralize the nation - are exposed a little too close to the 2008 elections?
Or do they push it through now, risking that the same outcome will enrage America at a time they claim to be divining American's overt desire to surrender to the same terrorists our guys were being shot at and blown up by?
Is the choice of Piggot to continue an indicator that he is Murtha's boy, maybe his only one, or is it simply a case that since he hasn't yet been charged with misconduct, he is the only one in the picture who gets to enjoy the old system of innocent until proven guilty?
I think alot of people are on the edge of their seats right about now.
I’m game if you are!
Has anyone found any connection to Pigg-ott and our favorite traitor Murtha? Wouldn’t that be just the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae?
It wasn’t widely reported that the wierdo CIA chief who complained about his “Slam Dunk” remark being reported also stated in his book that the single most productive intelligence tool they had after 9/11 was waterboarding.
Sounds like LTC Pig ought to be fired, but if someone tries, it’ll cost Gonzales his job.
Boy howdy, finding that connection would be a treat! Wonder how much of the Article 32 transcript would survive the censor if obtained through the FOIA? Just publishing a record of the hearing would be explosive.
Seeing as the WaPo gets all these leaked reports, maybe we should ask Josh White to get it the Article 32 transcript for us...
I keep sending e-mails to our Valiant Watchdogs of Liberty in the press to look at the Phan case. The conduct of the NCIS has a major bearing on Haditha. So far, no one outside of the San Diego area is interested.
Thanks for the ping. This is great news.
Lieutenant in Hamdania case reprimanded, restricted to base
North County Times, June 1, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON -- A Marine officer who once faced possible imprisonment for assaulting Iraqi detainees last year has been given a letter of reprimand, restricted to base for 30 days and ordered to forfeit half of his pay for one month.
The punishment meted out Thursday to 2nd Lt. Nathan Phan stemmed from his role in the handling of three suspected insurgents in the village of Hamdania northwest of Baghdad last spring.
"Lt. Phan and his family are very happy with the results," said David Sheldon, Phan's lead attorney. "His only wish now is that he be allowed to continue to serve in the Marine Corps that he loves."
Phan, 24, commanded a platoon from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Eight men under his command were charged last June with the slaying of a retired policeman in Hamdania in April 2006, a killing in which Phan was not accused of participating in or knowing about beforehand.
An investigation of the homicide case led to the assault charges against Phan in August along with one count of filing a false statement.
The charges accused the Sacramento-area native of taking part in the beating of three insurgent detainees in the weeks before the homicide and misleading commanders on whether one of the detainees was still in his custody.
Following a tumultuous five-day hearing at Camp Pendleton in January, Phan was ordered to court-martial on two of the assault charges. The court-martial was rescinded, however, when Phan agreed earlier this year to admit he did not precisely follow all the regulations in his treatment of the detainees.
Five of the eight men charged in the homicide case reached plea deals and were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 12 months to eight years. As part of his settlement with prosecutors and Mattis, Phan will be required to testify at upcoming trials of the remaining three defendants if called.
As part of his deal with prosecutors, Phan admitted exceeding "the permissible limits of the official rules of engagement regarding interrogation of insurgents."
He also acknowledged ordering squad Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, a defendant in the homicide case, to use a "blood choke" hold on one detainee, rendering that man unconscious, and he admitted pointing an unloaded pistol at another detainee.
The sanctions Phan received were decided Thursday morning by Lt. Gen. James Mattis during an appearance before the general in what the Marine Corps calls a "nonjudicial punishment." The letter of reprimand will go into Phan's permanent personnel record. Mattis suspended 30 days of a 60-day base restriction and suspended one month of his order that Phan be put on half-pay for two months.
Mattis serves as the convening authority over Marines accused of criminal activity as head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East and as head of Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Sheldon said he believes the punishment is appropriate.
"He made a minor mistake in judgment but in the end is an outstanding officer," the attorney said during a telephone interview.
Sheldon also said the result is a repudiation of the recommendation of the hearing officer that presided over the case and recommended Phan face trial on charges of assault as well as conduct unbecoming an officer. Phan could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison if convicted of the criminal assault charges.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.