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 ...
I'm thinking just the opposite. I'm thinking their testimony would have exhonerated the Marines and all of a sudden personal problems reared their ugly head. I'd love to know who was buying drinks the night Briones had his wreck, who the girl was in his barracks and how they 'met', who actually sent stuff from Iraq.
Wright (or his parents) was smart and sought 'psychiatric' assistance.
exonerated.
I had asked this earlier, and thanks to Red's pointer in #63 found this:
Laughner willfully violated standing orders, failed to follow orders of superior NCO's and officers, yet NCIS and the Generals (thanks, Lancey, for the "shorthand"!) give him a pass to use him in their felonious conduct.
I guess I'm just too old fashioned, but it seems that since a certain holding by the US Supreme Court all 'Criminal Justice' has become a farce in that the victims are ignored in the pursuit of headlines and 'points'. I don't know the case, but it's where our nine black-robed tyrants held that investigators can lie and fully misrepresent facts in their interrogations of suspects. That, and the severe over-charging of defendants to push for plea bargains instead of trials where all of the evidence is divulged has led to the sorry state our justice system are in today. Few people trust the cops anymore, as they have morphed from being "Peace Officers" into "Law Enforcement Operatives", and you hear more advice on what not to say to the cops than to call them for help.
Sorry for my rant, xzins, but I believe the gist is germane to the over-reach and over-charge of the Haditha Marines caused by blind acceptance of enemy propaganda.
Such a great quote you've got there, Brit. Laughner says he lied repeatedly about something he was saving because it was important to the people he wanted to give it to, that is, the very people he was lying to.
That is preposterous.
I hid this medicine to save your life, but I lied to you about having it, because I wanted to save your life.
Laughner was lying because he knew keeping the pics was illegal, and he was afraid they'd roast him over a slow fire.
Occam's Razor -- which makes more sense?
At the same time, we don't know what Laughner was subjected to during his examination by NCIS and the Prosecutors. I have no doubt that they threatened him with anything they thought they could right from the start, so in a way I can understand his severe reluctance to tell the truth as to his retention against orders, regardless of his motivation. But I don't believe his motivation was evidentiary, else they would not have been passed along to others as contraband.
Wonder when he realized that he could skate by fingering Lt Grayson? Or maybe the investigators had to draw a picture for him?
All roads lead back to Murtha regarding this travesty.
“The defense says that the prosecution can’t prove motive. We have a lieutenant who wasn’t even part of the action in Haditha. Repeat: He was NOT EVEN THERE. We have a lieutenant who ordered a SSG to remove illegal, prurient-interest death photos from his computer. We have senior NCOs who had much earlier ordered the same SSG to remove those illegal photos. It is against military regulations to keep photos of the war dead for prurient reasons. The NCOs & the Lieutenant knew there was no intelligence value to those photos. LtGrayson was correct to require the destruction of illegal material.”
If I understand the reasoning of such prosecutions, it may be an attempt to punish anyone who destroyes anything that might somehow be useful to the enemy in a propaganda production.
The enemy must be allowed their victory. The destruction of the US demands it.
They will have nothing to go on in this case. The only outcome has to be he will be cleared of any alleged wrong doing.
CAMP PENDLETON – A Marine who took pictures of Iraqi men, women and children killed by U.S. forces testified Thursday that he repeatedly lied to investigators about what happened to the potential evidence before saying he was ordered by 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson to erase the pictures from his laptop.
The testimony by Staff Sgt. Justin Laughner came during the court-martial of Grayson, who is accused of helping cover up the Nov. 19, 2005, killings in Haditha.
Laughner admitted during questioning by a defense attorney that he lied to five different investigators about what happened to the photographs.
“I wasn't truthful with them because I knew I had already deleted them,” he said. “I felt that I had done something wrong.”
Laughner said he took the photos of the bodies hours after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two Marines.
After the bombing, investigators say, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a squad member 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 the Iraqis. In all, 24 men, women and children died.
Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder in the case and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges were dropped against five of the Marines but remain against Grayson, Wuterich and a third Marine.
Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, is the first of the three to go to trial.
Grayson was not present at the scene of the killings, but is accused of obstruction of justice among other charges for allegedly ordering Laughner to delete photographs of the dead from his personal laptop.
In opening statements earlier in the day, Lt. Col. Paul H. Atterbury, the prosecutor, told jurors that Grayson lied to investigators to help cover up the killings. But Grayson's defense attorney said the officer had no motive to lie about the killings because he wasn't there when they happened.
“Lieutenant Grayson is nothing more than a fall guy in a botched investigation under intense media pressure,” Maj. William A. Santmyer told the jury of seven officers.
He said the only connection between Grayson and the Haditha case were pictures.
“What the evidence will not show and what the government will not be able to show is a motive for the misconduct Grayson is alleged to have committed,” he said.
Grayson is charged with two counts of making false official statements, two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service, and one count each of attempt to deceive by making false statements and obstruction of justice by trying to impede an investigation.
Grayson, who says he did nothing wrong, faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and dismissal from the Marine Corps, if found guilty of all charges.
Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani of Rangely, Colo., is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations he mishandled the aftermath of the shooting deaths.
Chessani was a battalion commander.
Interesting, also, that no one was asked if they had read the devastating Thomas More press releases. I hope they have.
>> to answer charges of obstruction of justice.
The roadside bomb was the day’s first obstruction-of-justice followed by the second obstruction-of-justice when the insurgents involved civilians in combat. Destruction of unsecured non-essential media: not obstruction-of-justice.
Harassment and persecution of Marines: obstruction-of-honor, obstruction-of-liberty, obstruction-of-justice.
You are H O T!
Not quite sure how it works now, but when I was in the US Navy any communication had to go up through your Chain of Command. In my case, I would submit a Request Chit to my Division Officer; if he approved it I got it back, if he disapproved it went up to the Deck Division Commander, then the Executive Officer, then the Captain. With no approval in the chain, my next course of action was to put in for a Request Captains Mast, and thereby a formal Summary, Special, or General Court Martial. Trying to step outside of the chain would guarantee a Captain's Mast and referral to a Court Martial. It's called "Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Discipline", among others. (I was LPO, and had a guy do just that).
My question to Laughner is who did he notify, since he was 'saving' the 'evidence'.
He protesteth too much.
Another question: Was Laughner tasked as the photographer for the initial investigation by K3? Not certain, but I seem to recall he was not, and had no reason to have any photos on his personal PC.
Are you people ever serious?
;-)
I’m wondering how a wormy little POS like Laughner got as far as he did. Just kidding. Those lines around his mouth are really stretch marks.
Hey Red, that looks like a prison tat. (I saw something about them on TV.)
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