Posted on 03/26/2008 2:00:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A shadow legal body was set up by the Defense Department to manipulate the prosecutions of U.S. Marines accused of massacring Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.
That’s the bombshell disclosure from the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm that is representing one of the accused Marines, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani.
And it could prove to be the most damning piece of evidence showing the political motivations behind the ongoing prosecutions of the Haditha Marines.
“The hysteria and media firestorm over Abu Ghraib and the Pat Tillman investigations led to fear of a similar media reaction to the Haditha incident, causing the military’s civilian bosses to set up this shadow oversight body,” Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Law Center, told Newsmax. “This extraordinary action politicized the military justice system and was a clear signal to top generals that they were expected to hold individuals criminally responsible. The investigation turned into a quest for a prosecution — not justice.”
The shadow legal body, called “Legal Team Charlie,” was composed of military lawyers reassigned from other units and reserve officers activated to prosecute the Haditha case, a move the Law Center termed “highly unusual.”
According to the Law Center, the director of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service admitted that more than 65 investigators were assigned, which in his opinion was the largest investigative effort in the department’s history.
“I am deeply troubled by the fact that the desire to appease the liberal anti-war press and politicians has led to the prosecution of innocent Marines for purely political purposes,” Thompson told Newsmax.
He went on to say, “These prosecutions will become a scandal of historic proportions unless terminated by independently minded and virtuous military judges.”
As Newsmax has been reporting almost from the outset, Marines of Kilo Company are being prosecuted for their house-to-house battle to flush out ambushing insurgents on Nov. 19, 2005.
In the firefight, 15 civilians were killed. Details of the battle and the civilian deaths were dutifully reported throughout the chain of command, including top generals, and all concluded that although this was a tragic and unfortunate consequence of urban warfare, the Marines were justified in their actions.
Months later, however, a Time magazine article — later proven to be erroneous — called the deaths of the civilians a “massacre,” setting off a media firestorm and leading the military to initiate investigations.
The secretary of the Navy countermanded a determination by then Marine Lt. Gen. James Mattis that Col. Stephen Davis, Chessani’s regimental commander, “would receive a 'Non-Punitive Letter of Caution,' which would not be part of his permanent record,” according to the Law Center.
“Mattis’ decision was overridden by the Navy secretary, who ordered a 'Letter of Censure,' a more severe punishment, which effectively ended this fine Marine officer’s career. As the consolidated convening authority in all the Haditha investigations, General Mattis’ decision, under normal circumstances, would be absolute and final.”
Chessani was not personally present at the scene of the ambush in Haditha, but the Marines responding were in his battalion. Chessani is charged with “dereliction of duty” and “orders” violations.
The 20-year Marine veteran and father of six faces a maximum of three years in prison, dismissal (an officer’s equivalent of a dishonorable discharge), and the loss of his retirement benefits.
An Undue Command Influence motion has already been filed on behalf of the two combat Marines facing charges over the Haditha battle. The Law Center said it intends to file its own Undue Command Influence motion on behalf of Chessani, and promised that further startling events will be revealed at that time.
In other developments, the court-martial of one of the combat Marines, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, will commence Friday, March 28. Newsmax’s Nat Helms is in California to cover the trial at Camp Pendleton.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor’s Note: The Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center does not charge for its services and is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Center can be reached at www.thomasmore.org.
[Pentagon Had Secret Committee]
Good comments Phil. It’s frightening to learn about what goes on behind the scenes.
*snore*
As much as I like your solution, I am just a bit more partial to this one...
I want the top orchestrator publicly unmasked, stripped, shaved, flogged, and crucified upside down in a splayed posture with a two-handed broadsword at the High-Noon position.
Preferrably on the White House lawn.
THIS is how traitors to Justice need to be treated.
THEN — only THEN — will this kind of bullshit stop.
4 posted on 03/26/2008 4:05:53 PM CDT by HKMk23
I agree with you. It is a sad day when the top Marine general makes a decision, then his decision is overturned. I would send these legal eagles to Iraq and put them in equivalent duty to walking point man in Iraq.
I could not judge a man on the ground when I flew the FAC over recon teams. I cannot judge a Marine. I was never one. How do you judge a man fighting in Iraq from the USA?
Each service appoints an independent officer from a different company or unit to conduct the initial investigation. He interviews all partipants separately,keeps detailed notes or recordings, and reports his findings. The report goes through channels, and; the Marine Gen did not cut any slack.
Why were some so quick to judge? I can only judge myself and make assessments of those I served with and was actually under fire with. Apparently, some omnipotent ones think they have much more ability to judge these Marines then then those on the ground that day, and those who saw the battlefield via a perdator, which may be more accurate then flying over a team in contact, but; I do not think any aircraft, no matter how sophistacated, is as accurate as the testimony of those Marines on the ground that day.
Political correctness run amok.
No matter how many troops we put in, no matter how we smash the enemy on the field, there is no way we can win this kind of war if we punish our troops for doing their jobs.
Why do we keep doing this kind of thing? We did it in Vietnma and to a lesser extent in Korea and we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Why do we keep trying to accomodate our enemies, foreign and domestic, instead of using our power to get the job done?
As Rush says, the purpose of an army is to kill people and break things. It’s time we remembered that.
Whoever orchestrated this traitorous scheme deserves to be swinging from the nearest lampost.
If that’s what it takes.
Gutless is the WORST POS on EARTH. He is an embarrassment and an ABOMINATION.
I get a belly laugh every time I see that nut. You should too. You’ll feel better for it, once you face reality. Seriously.
Set yourself up for Hillary! or Obama. You heard it here first.(!!)
[Gutless (and his supporters) have destroyed the republican party. You'll see.]
Ya know. I'm embarrassed to come to FR any more with all the hysterical exaggeration that goes on around here.
So President Bush is the WORST POS on EARTH? Worse than Mugabe? Worse than Osama ben Laden? Worse than O.J.Simpson? Worse than Louis Farakkan? Worse than Charles Manson? I could easily go on.
I get a belly laugh every time I see that nut.
I hate to break it to you, but you're the nut.
Set yourself up for Hillary! or Obama. You heard it here first.(!!)
Yeah, I know how prescient you all are. Here's a really great prediction from last year:
All US forces will be out of Iraq in one year, or less. It's over. 11 posted on 05/31/2007 7:11:27 PM PDT by Jim Noble (We don't need to know what Cho thought. We need to know what Librescu thought.)
I ran across this thead again today and I was wondering if anything came of this revelation of the “ shadow legal body?”
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.