Posted on 12/14/2010 9:25:59 AM PST by Smokeyblue
An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questions Barack Obama's eligibility to be president has pleaded guilty to 1 of 2 charges against him.
At a court-martial proceeding Tuesday in Maryland, Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin of Greeley, Colo., pleaded guilty to not meeting with a superior when ordered to do so and not showing up at Fort Campbell in Kentucky where he was supposed to report.
(Excerpt) Read more at wkrn.com ...
No. They’re not broken. I’d have been banned if I typed what I really thought. So she got ***
*snip*
LTC Lakin pled guilty to all four of the Article 92 specifications alleged in Charge II (media reports had suggested mixed pleas to these offenses). The accused pled not guilty to Charge I and its Specification, which allege the offense of missing movement.
During the hour-and-a-half long Care inquiry, LTC Lakin acknowledged no less than half a dozen times that the orders he received were lawful, and that he in fact had a duty to obey them. Judge Lind found his guilty pleas to be provident and accepted them.
The defense then moved to dismiss the dereliction of duty spec as an unreasonable multiplication of charges in light of the accused’s guilty plea to Specification 3. The prosecution did not oppose the motion, and Judge Lind granted it. She then entered guilty findings on Specifications 1-3 of Charge II and on Charge II itself.
LTC Lakin elected to be tried by a panel of officers. The defense asked the judge to advise the members that LTC Lakin had pled guilty to violating lawful orders, and that his pleas were accepted. Neither side attempted to use voir dire to explore their theory of the case.
Of the ten officers named to the court by the convening authority, nine had heard about the case; one expressed an opinion negative to the accused, and the judge granted a challenge for cause for that member. The prosecution did not exercise any peremptory challenges; the defense challenged one member, leaving eight. All are O-6s.
The state of play now is as follows:
trial will begin at 1500 hours with opening statements on the missing movement offense. Regardless of how the members find on that offense, LTC Lakin will proceed to sentencing. He is, on the evidence and by his own admission under oath, a criminal to be sentenced in accordance with the UCMJ.
Update: Many folks had wondered whether there would be a deal in the case. There was no deal.
Some additional comments from the colonel: there were no signs of protest outside Fort Meade, but many luminaries of the birther movement are present in the courtroom, including Orly Taitz and Charles Kerchner. Decorum in the court has generally been good.
http://www.caaflog.com/2010/12/14/united-states-v-lakin-liveblog-ii/
No! REALLY??!?!?! /sarc
The authorization to invade Afghanistan is EXACTLY THE SAME as the authorization to invade Iran. Both would be authorized by SJ Res 23 - which gives only “the President” the authority to use force.
IOW, if there was not an order from a Constitutional “President” to increase the use of force in Afghanistan, then the brigade commanders would be no more authorized to send additional combat forces to Afghanistan than to Iran.
But yet Lind says the existence or validity of the Presidential authorization is “IRRELEVANT” to the lawfulness of the orders.
That is revolutionary. That’s saying the brigade commanders can send combat troops to Afghanistan/Iran (take your pick; the legal authorization is the same) regardless of whether the person SJ Res 23 authorizes ever did, in fact, authorize the use of force.
Interesting.
From: http://www.caaflog.com/2010/12/14/united-states-v-lakin-liveblog-ii/
“We have fresh information from Colonel Sullivan, on site at the Lakin court-martial at Fort Meade, Maryland.
LTC Lakin pled guilty to all four of the Article 92 specifications alleged in Charge II (media reports had suggested mixed pleas to these offenses). The accused pled not guilty to Charge I and its Specification, which allege the offense of missing movement.
During the hour-and-a-half long Care inquiry, LTC Lakin acknowledged no less than half a dozen times that the orders he received were lawful, and that he in fact had a duty to obey them. Judge Lind found his guilty pleas to be provident and accepted them. The defense then moved to dismiss the dereliction of duty spec as an unreasonable multiplication of charges in light of the accused’s guilty plea to Specification 3. The prosecution did not oppose the motion, and Judge Lind granted it. She then entered guilty findings on Specifications 1-3 of Charge II and on Charge II itself.
LTC Lakin elected to be tried by a panel of officers. The defense asked the judge to advise the members that LTC Lakin had pled guilty to violating lawful orders, and that his pleas were accepted. Neither side attempted to use voir dire to explore their theory of the case. Of the ten officers named to the court by the convening authority, nine had heard about the case; one expressed an opinion negative to the accused, and the judge granted a challenge for cause for that member. The prosecution did not exercise any peremptory challenges; the defense challenged one member, leaving eight. All are O-6s.
The state of play now is as follows: trial will begin at 1500 hours with opening statements on the missing movement offense. Regardless of how the members find on that offense, LTC Lakin will proceed to sentencing. He is, on the evidence and by his own admission under oath, a criminal to be sentenced in accordance with the UCMJ.
Update: Many folks had wondered whether there would be a deal in the case. There was no deal.
Some additional comments from the colonel: there were no signs of protest outside Fort Meade, but many luminaries of the birther movement are present in the courtroom, including Orly Taitz and Charles Kerchner. Decorum in the court has generally been good.”
As some one who has been spit upon while in uniform, I must say that the members of the military that support what this country is doing to this Brave Officer in his quest to determine if Obama is actually eligible to give orders to our military are in fact pissing on the very Constitution they have swore upon their honor to protect.
And for hate’s sake I would spit my last breath at them...
Yes, that's what she meant.
And that’s what happened after the Nuremberg trials, right???
... I am just grasping at straws. I know that.
sigh
From past experience, I have learned not to be very hopeful.
Clearly, the folks over at CAAFlog are "overly simplistic" with "limited knowledge". I am quite sure that at any moment, the SUPER-DOUBLE, TOP-SECRET plea agreement will be revealed by those in the know.
No! REALLY??!?!?! /sarc
“But yet Lind says the existence or validity of the Presidential authorization is “IRRELEVANT” to the lawfulness of the orders.”
__
That’s right. Now take a deep breath, you’re not thinking clearly.
Saying that Presidential eligibility is irrelevant to the lawfulness of orders doesn’t mean that all orders are lawful. It means that some orders are lawful and others aren’t, just as it’s always been.
Lakin’s order to report to his commanding officer’s office was legal, regardless of the eligibility of the President.
A brigade commander’s order to invade Iran would be illegal, regardless of the eligibility of the President.
It’s not hard to understand, you’re just getting carried away by your emotions.
Yeah. I am just grasping at straws.
It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that LTC Lakin is going to be punished for doing the right thing.
I was hoping that there would be some positive resolution out of his case.
That hope is nigh on too dim to see now.
Funny that you should mention that. I had noted the other day that a few comedian type stations had jumped on the band wagon. SNL and jay Leno .. Leno said things were so bad for Obama that democrats were now asking to see his birth certificate. SNL ended a “presidential” skit with the Obama look alike saying he thought he was from America, but after seeing his birth certificate he wasn’t so sure or something to that nature.
I found that telling as well, considering our nation is too busy to get real news, ask real questions and only interested in comedy. I think a lot of people get their views from these shows. For them to jump on the bandwagon bodes ill for Obama.
This officer has put everything on the line. The only argument seems to be disobeying a superior, but where does that stop.
If I were still active, does the order stop with my supervisor, or his, or his, or his, and does it not eventually end up to the CIC. I understand the Colonel’s point. Obama is a usurper and thus unqualified to direct anything.
I don’t spit on the US military either. Just like I don’t sell my kids to the zoo, even though I sometimes feel like it.
Most people in the military are good people and they have my utmost respect. There are things the leadership has done for which I have contempt. That is what I am saying.
I would never spit on anybody. Even people within the military who make an honorable man (who is sacrificing as much as anybody in the military has ever sacrificed) grovel before a judge to convince her that right is wrong and wrong is right. That information was new to me and I cannot think of anything more disgusting to ask of an honorable, truthful man. It’s like hearing the latest great torture technique, sort of took me aback a bit.
Seems like people are misunderstanding what I said. For the sake of peace will you please take the offending post down? I only meant to say how utterly disgusted I am at the thought of the leadership forcing an honorable, truthful man to grovel before a lying Denise Lind trying to convince her that up is down.
I am so stealing that.
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.