Posted on 05/28/2008 3:33:36 AM PDT by RedRover
SAN DIEGO—A Marine intelligence officer heads to court Wednesday to answer charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements during an investigation into the killings of 24 Iraqis.
The court-martial of 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson is the first case to come to trial in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq war.
Authorities maintain eight Marines killed the Iraqis shortly after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two Marines.
Grayson of Springboro, Ohio, was not present at the scene of the killings on Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha, but is accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from his digital camera.
Investigators allege after the bombing, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a squad member allegedly shot five men by a car at the scene. Wuterich then allegedly ordered his men into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians in the process.
Charges against all but three Marines, including Grayson, have been dropped.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Oh Gosh,ok I am getting ready to leave.I will pray a rosary on the way home right now.Gotta run,prayers,(((Hugs))))
I'd bet there is no recording of these alleged lies; just the testimony of NCIS agents. This is the exact reason you NEVER, EVER talk to the cops/NCIS without full immunity. anything you have to say can wait for the trial. If you don't talk to the cops/NCIS, it is impossible for them to misconstrue or lie about what you said.
Incompetence of the highest possible order is the *new normal for the industry of journalism.
Fact mean nothing, it’s all about the narrative.
*actually, not so new, not so different, more of the same tired old crap that has always infested that industry since it was start up print shops pushing pamphlets.
Kind of matches the competency of the government in this case.
It is the usual case in such things as well. Governments are necessary evils to be tolerated, but only to a point. Anything with lots of people in it is going to be a mess. No way around that.
The prosecutors in this case are suffering from an onset of acute terminal stpidity.
Just got off the phone with Pendleton. The jury started to deliberate at 1.00, Pacific and is still out.
Many hearts are in many throats, waiting.
I’m going to be on a train for an hour so may not get word if word comes soon.
If you’re a believer, please take a moment to hold up Andrew Grayson and his family in prayer.
Lt. Grayson and his family, along with the families of the other accused Marines are in my prayers.
I Know that is rampant in civilian life, too. The problem is the concept of guilty until proven innocent. People in general don't see it until they are involved. Then it's a real WTF eye-opener.
Thanks, Red.
Prayers up for Lt. Grayson and his family.
Prayers up!
For Chessani and Wuterich, too.
Thanks, RedRover, for your tireless efforts in keeping us all informed.
I sure hope Casas did a whole lot better with the rest of his closing argument than he did with that line quoted above. That line makes it sound like the case is about which side did the better lawyering rather than about the unjust railroad job that some cowardly military and civilian commanders perpetrated against a terrific Marine in order to try to appease a liberal press corps.
As far as I'm concerned, the best defense would have been to compare the glowing accolades from the parade of character witnesses against the lame conjectures of a politically ambitious prosecutor who has the unmitigated gall to blast Lt. Grayson as a liar who tried to avoid accouintability.
"Who do you believe," I would have asked, "all these fine Marines who have actually served with Lt. Grayson and gladly testified in his behalf, or a prosecutor who is trying to salvage something - - anything - - from a horribly botched, political witch hunt by trying to spin scant evidence and paint Lt. Grayson as a liar?"
Of course, maybe Casas DID offer remarks like that.
I sure hope so.
“The prosecutors in this case are suffering from an onset of acute terminal stupidity.”
This is, in large part, due to the rest of us having sat on our hands and playing the victim class as the rightful, proper and long observed customs of dealing with traitors and other forms of betrayer filth have been abandoned by our socialist “betters”.
We act like feckless peasants, we get treated like feckless peasants.
Excellent point.
Although, one wonders if someone willing to lie in the first place is also not willing to totally fabricate.
“Accountability for what?”
Exactly.
Lt Grayson wasn’t even there. He wasn’t accountable for anything. But, I’ve not read evidence supporting that he lied.
WHAT is he supposed to have lied about????
I would also tie together the charges with the lack of supporting facts and the outright contradictions of the charges.
1. The obstruction charge was so obviously untrue that it was dropped.
2. The lying charge grew out of the dropped obstruction charge. Did Grayson ever lie about having pictures? No. Did Grayson lie about deleting pictures? No. Where is the flippin’ lie????
3. The discharge charge is the result of a Lt getting discharge papers, inquiring as to their legality, following the advice of a Jag officer all the way through, and then willingly complying when the discharge was terminated. Where is the fraud when you’re following legal counsel and being totally above board?
Families...that is what America is supposed to stand for.
Our Government has put the Lt Grayson family through the meat grinder with these unfounded, unsupported and totally false charges. We stand in silent prayer for this hero Marine as he awaits the verdict. Lt Andrew Grayson will always be one of the few...the proud...the brave...a United States Marine.
Our prayers are with you
God Bless Our Haditha Marines
The Sharratt Family
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