Well, those slug-a-beds at the Associated Press finally got the story...eleven hours after us.
HA!_____________________________
Judge dismisses obstruction charge in Haditha case, The Associated Press, 06/03/2008 10:35:38 AM PDT (Ha, again!)
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.—A military judge has dismissed a charge of obstruction of justice against a Marine lieutenant being court-martialed for allegedly helping cover up a squad's killings of 24 Iraqis, including women and children.
The judge dismissed the charge Tuesday against 1st. Lt. Andrew Grayson, who is being tried at Camp Pendleton for allegedly ordering a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from a digital camera and laptop computer.
Grayson was not present at the scene of the Nov. 19, 2005, killings in Haditha that followed a roadside bombing that killed one Marine and wounded two others.
Grayson, who says he did nothing wrong, is still charged with making false official statements, trying to fraudulently separate from service and attempting to deceive by making false statements.
They are slug-a-beds! Here's the story from North County Times
Judge drops obstruction charge in Haditha case mid-trial
"A military judge on Tuesday dismissed a charge that an officer obstructed justice when he told a sergeant to delete photos of two dozen civilians killed by a squad of Camp Pendleton Marines following a roadside bomb attack in Haditha, Iraq.
It was not immediately clear why the judge, Maj. Brian Kasprzyk, dropped one of the charges facing 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, who is being tried on charges related to the aftermath of the killings that occurred Nov. 19, 2005.
As Grayson looked on, Kasprzyk told a military jury inside a base courtroom Tuesday morning that it was no longer to consider the obstruction charge.
An intelligence officer at the time of the killings, Grayson still faces charges that he lied to investigators and fraudulently tried to get out of the Marine Corps after the initial charges were filed. The 27-year-old Ohio native has pleaded not guilty.
In testimony last week, Staff Sgt. Justin Laughner told the jury that Grayson directed him three months after the killings to delete images of the dead that he photographed a few hours after the incident. The dead included two women and several young children.
Laughner, who took the photos as part of his duties, said Grayson's order to destroy the photos came during the early stages of media-sparked military investigations of the killings.
Laughner said he photographed the bodies to help determine if any of the slain were insurgents. He showed them to Grayson on the day of the slayings, he testified, adding he kept the digital photos in case anyone might need them in the future.
But Grayson's attorneys argued ---- and the trial testimony bore out ---- that military policy forbids keeping photos of slain Iraqi civilians if has been determined they have no intelligence value.".....
"........Closing arguments to the jury ---- made up of seven military officers, all of whom have combat deployments under their belts ---- are tentatively set for Wednesday morning."