Euphoric Reality

ANN ARBOR, MI – Late yesterday afternoon, military prosecutors filed an official notice that they are appealing the June 17th decision of Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, which dismissed all charges against Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of unlawful command influence.

Click here to read the prosecution’s notice of appeal now.

Prosecutors have 20 days in which to file their appeal brief to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA), which is located in Washington, D.C.

Thomas More Law Center, representing Chessani, released a statement of their disgust today.

For over two years, the federal government, the Far Left media and anti-war politicians have smeared the names of loyal Marines, spent millions of dollars to uncover the “Haditha massacre” that never occurred, and employed an army of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents in what it described as the largest investigation in that agency’s history. To show for their efforts military prosecutors have lost 7 of the 8 cases they charged, the eighth case is still awaiting trial.

Earlier this week, the prosecutors suffered their latest setback when military judge Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissed all charges against LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, the highest ranking Marine officer facing “Haditha” charges. Despite this ruling, the government has indicated that it intends to pursue an appeal, which will continue the case and the expense of taxpayer money for many more months, if not longer.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing LtCol Chessani in the court martial, commented, “The investigation and prosecution of the Haditha Marines has been a Fiasco. A military command decision should end it now—for the sake of the Corps, our nation and the Marines involved.”

Thompson continued, “Colonel Folsom’s ruling is rock-solid. If the government wants to continue wasting taxpayer dollars pursuing this case on appeal, we are more than committed to defending the military judge’s ruling, even if it means taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. We intend to fight as tenaciously as LtCol Chessani’s Marines fought in Iraq. Enough is enough—it’s time to end this Fiasco.”

In a detailed ruling, which took the military judge over an hour to deliver from the bench, the judge dismissed the charges on the basis of unlawful command influence, which he described as “the mortal enemy of military justice.” The government’s appeal will be heard initially by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA), which is located in Washington, D.C. A decision by that court could then be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) and then even to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, and goes to show the absolute lengths the government will go to in order to prosecute these Marines.

Col. Steven Folsom just made the list of my favorite people of all time.

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, this morning dismissed all charges against Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of unlawful command influence. He blistered the prosecution’s case in an opinion he read from the bench that lasted an hour. The ruling was without prejudice. Colonel Folsom gave prosecutors 72 hours in which to notify him whether they would appeal.

The ruling was greeted with tears of joy from Chessani’s wife and several spectators in the courtroom.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, represents LtCol Chessani alongside his detailed military attorneys. The two Law Center attorneys assigned to his case are former Marine officers themselves. Robert Muise served in the First Persian Gulf war as an infantry officer, and Brian Rooney was a Judge Advocate officer who served two tours of duty in Iraq. Lt Colonel John Shelburne, USMC, and Captain Jeff King, USMC , the detailed military defense counsel, make up the rest of Chessani’s defense team.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commenting on the judge’s decision had this to say, “We are all grateful for the judge’s ruling today. He truly was the “last sentinel” to guard against unlawful command influence.”

“Tragically, our own government eliminated one of its most effective combat commanders. The insurgents are laughing in their caves,” said Thompson.

We finally have a chance to show the undue command influence in the Hutchins case as well. Thank you, Col. Folsom!

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, will issue his ruling on the crucial Unlawful Command Influence motion brought by LtCol Jeffrey Chessani’s defense counsel in a Camp Pendleton, California, courtroom on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:00am PST.

Col Folsom had originally scheduled hearings in Chessani’s case to last for three days, June 16–18.  However, in an announcement that might prove to be significant to the Chessani case, Col Folson indicated late last week that he will announce his decision on the defense motion to dismiss on June 17 in a hearing that should last approximately one hour.

In May 2008, Col Folsom ruled that he found evidence of unlawful command influence (UCI). Courts consider UCI the mortal enemy of military justice.  The judge’s finding was based upon the evidence that Generals Mattis and Helland, who controlled the disposition of LtCol Chessani’s case, were impermissibly influenced by Marine lawyer Col John Ewers, one of the initial investigators of the Haditha.  Col Ewers was permitted to attend at least and up to 25 closed-session meetings in which LtCol Chessani’s case was discussed.

Start praying, folks.  If these charges are dismissed, then the door is open for us to bring Sgt Larry Hutchins’ case up as the next undue command influence example.

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military prosecutors are expected to call as their witness General James N. Mattis, a highly respected Marine officer and one of only a handful of four-star Marine generals, to testify in the court-martial hearing against LtCol Jeffrey Chessani on June 2, 2008, at Camp Pendleton, California.

Gen Mattis, recently given his fourth star, was the previous convening authority for the Haditha cases and the officer responsible for referring LtCol Chessani’s case to a general court-martial. Prosecutors are relying on him to rebut previous findings of the Military Judge that there is evidence of unlawful command influence.

So let me get this straight. When the defense asks for Mattis’ sworn deposition, they’re denied. Yet the prosecution can call him as a witness with no problems at all? And what will Mattis say? Well, of course he’ll say there was no undue command influence, and the judge will nod and say, “Oh, okay. Wow. Good thing you came on the stand and set that straight. Thanks, guys. Let’s all go get a brewski now.”

Am I the only one who thinks this fish smells worse than a two-dollar hooker? As it turns out, I’m not.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, the national public interest law firm defending LtCol Chessani, commented, “This case is dripping with double standards and political intrigue as the Pentagon attempts to appease Washington’s political establishment and press…”

[I must point out here that those of us fighting for these and other Marines like SGT Lawrence Hutchins have repeatedly tried to get Thomas More Law Center involved, but were rebuffed. Now suddenly it appears they've seen the light, sort of like the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. We're just happy they caught up.]

And here’s a little factoid you may not have known about:

“…Gen Mattis was investigated for ordering a ground and air assault of an Iraqi ‘wedding party’ in 2004 that resulted in the deaths of 40 men, women, and children. At a press conference shortly after the incident, he defended his actions by retorting, ‘I don’t have to apologize for the conduct of my Marines.’ What is puzzling is that even though Mattis rightfully was never charged with any criminal wrongdoing in that case, he did not give LtCol Chessani the same consideration.”

Did you catch that? “I don’t have to apologize for the conduct of my Marines.” Brilliantly said, and yet here we are, with Mattis at the forefront of a witch hunt against the very men he claims to love and respect so deeply, in almost the same type of situation. Then again, when it comes to the Marine Corps leadership, it’s not about fairness, justice, or even honor–as we’ve seen time and time again in case after case.

What makes me so curious is how Mattis will explain away roughly 25 closed-session meetings where one of the investigators was allowed to attend and discuss the case with the officers controlling the disposition of the case. That’s like a homicide investigator meeting with the judges in a civilian case. In other words, not right.

Chessani’s attorneys will be able to cross-examine the general on the stand, but if past track record is any indication of how that will go, the prosecutor will object, the judge will sustain, and Mattis will not be exposed for the dishonorable man that he is. We shall see if the judge has the personal integrity and fortitude to make his decision based on facts instead

[Note: I am well aware, dear readers, that my freedom to call Mattis dishonorable was given to me in part by Mattis himself. However, it was also paid for by Jeffrey Chessani and Larry Hutchins, so you'll forgive me if my loyalty lies with them instead of the one who ruined their careers and traded their freedoms for his fourth star.]

As disgusting as these cases continue to be, and as much of a cesspool as the military “justice” system has become, each mistake, each over-the-top action that they take is one more arrow in our quiver. It is one more piece of proof of innocence for all of these Marines, one more way we can show how badly these cases are conducted. That means one step closer to freedom for SGT Larry Hutchins.

So hang in there, Larry. If the NCIS, the JAG, and the Marine Corps leadership show their backsides any more, we’ll have caught them with their pants down completely–which is exactly what I, and others like me, intend to do.

Two and half years later, the government has finally seen fit to drag three Iraqis to the States to testify against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani in the Haditha case. Perhaps it took them that long to find three in the area that weren’t insurgents. Maybe it took the government that long to get their stories to match.

Two doctors and a nurse from Haditha are giving depositions, said attorney Brian Rooney. He represents Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who is accused of not properly investigating the killings…Rooney said the two doctors are expected to testify about a Haditha town council meeting, during which Iraqis demanded that Chessani investigate the 24 deaths.

Perhaps most heartbreaking about the entire affair–and the Pendleton 8, and Iron Triangle, and Captain Roger Maynulet, and Lt. Ilario Pantano–is not even that we repay our most honorable warriors with accusations and ruined lives. Perhaps it is comments like these, written by a Marine in the comments and echoed a hundred times to me by troops all over the world in the last two years.

“wow, here we go again, making our troops look like cold blooded killers. why join the military to defend this country if you are going to prosecute us for shooting people that are shooting at us?”

These trials do not take place in a vacuum. The entire world sees that the United States has taken to eating its own. In an effort to appease those who have no right to demand it, we have instead shown ourselves as weak, ineffective, incompetent, and unwilling to stand behind the men we send into war. How dare we? More importantly, with evidence so blatantly proving these men innocent, why is everyone so afraid of speaking the truth?

Every day that these cases go on, and every day that the men behind the this mockery of justice are not exposed, is another measure of shame that we all bear as a nation. I challenge you to educate yourself. I challenge you to have the testicular fortitude to speak the truth.

Things are about to heat up in the remaining Haditha case. Attorneys for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani will be in court at the nearly-infamous Camp Pendleton tomorrow to argue more motions–some of which the judge has brought on himself.

Robert Muise, an attorney with the Thomas More Law Center which is defending LtCol Chessani, will be arguing that the case should be dismissed on two separate grounds: first, that the existence of unlawful command influence prevents Chessani from receiving a fair trial, and second, that Chessani has been the victim of selective prosecution for improper reasons.

Both of these motions are obvious, easily proven, and no-brainers. However, as we’ve seen historically in these cases, that means nothing.  Let’s keep in mind that this particular judge has ruled that in order for Chessani to be found guilty, the prosecution does not need to prove that the Marines acted improperly…only that Chessani should have suspected that they did.

What?

We’ll be bringing you all the scoop, as usual.

In what is perhaps the most asinine travesty of justice I’ve seen in quite some time, the judge presiding over Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani’s court-martial in the Haditha case has, in the immortal slang of some of my friends, “stepped on his crank.”

Amid the flurry of arguments in the hearing on several motions earlier in the month, comments by military judge, Colonel Stephen Folsom, USMC, has shed some light on how he will conduct the trial of Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Chessani. According to the judge, it makes no difference whether the Marines in LtCol Chessani’s battalion did or did not kill civilians in cold blood – the issue for the jury will be whether LtCol Chessani should have reasonably suspected his Marines killed civilians in cold blood. [...]

Observed Thompson, “A military jury could find LtCol Chessani guilty even if it concluded that his Marines did not kill civilians in “cold blood,” no Law of War violation actually occurred, and his decision not to conduct a formal written investigation on the November 19, 2005 Haditha incident, was the right decision based on the actual facts – all prosecutors would have to show is that LtCol Chessani should have suspected a violation in order to find him criminally guilty.”

What kind of justice is this? None. This is a disgusting mockery of law, and because of it, a decorated, honorable officer who has served his country well for many years will suffer even more than he has already.

One Media Matters-like organization is already too many. It appears as though there’s another liberal apologist blog out there. Their name is News Hounds. The post that caught my attention dealt with last weekend’s interview of Justin and Darryl Sharraltt on Hannity’s America. To say that their post didn’t attempt to refute Justin’s story is understatement. In fact, they jump right into criticizing Mr. Hannity:

Last night’s (October 27th) Hannity’s America was a strange magazine format which combined stories about mediums and haunted houses with a lead off interview that was billed as “The Truth About Haditha.” Hannity is a college drop out with no professional journalism credentials and this lack of professional journalistic acumen was well reflected in Hannity’s “leading questions” which served a political agenda. (Comment: Although Fox’s Chris Wallace can be partisan, he looks like Cronkite compared to Sean Hannity!)

Hannity billed his interview with Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt, his lawyer, and his father as “exclusive.” He began by noting that this interview would be a response to Congressman John Murtha and military officials who are “trying to paint the story with a different brush.” Before the interview began, Hannity set up the Fox/right wing premise by asking the not so rhetorical question “have politics gotten in the way of patriotism?” Without doing an overview of the Haditha story, he asked Sharratt to explain what happened on that fateful day. Hannity asked Sharratt if he saw any of his fellow Marines doing anything that they weren’t supposed to do. Not surprisingly, Sharratt said that he didn’t. Hannity mentioned the article in Time Magazine which reported that the Haditha civilians claimed they were attacked by the Marines. Hannity asked Sharratt why Time would report that and Sharratt said he didn’t know.

You’ll notice that Newshounds doesn’t mention Capt. Jeffrey Dinsmore’s sworn testimony. I posted about Capt. Dinsmore’s testimony in a post titled A Timline Emerges back in July. Here’s what I posted then:

As previously reported by NewsMax, the battalion S2 officer made a full and complete report based on his monitoring of the day’s events and the intelligence he and others had amassed then and previous days. As we wrote at the time, the PowerPoint after-action report he sent up the command ladder proved to all the higher officers that the incident warranted no further investigation.

I also mentioned these important details that should’ve been included in NewsHounds’s post: continue reading…

I am trying as hard as I can to not scream “We TOLD you people!” but it refuses to stay under wraps. So…

We told you so. In fact, we told you on 22 June 2006–over a year and a half ago–that the Haditha incident was nothing more than al-Qaeda setting up our Marines, and the media/politicans were falling for it. Now a new report shows that we were right all along. Our Marines aren’t “cold-blooded killers,” they’re heroes who did the best they could in the middle of trying to keep themselves alive while fighting a war that our own country won’t let them win.

But don’t believe us. Read the PDF report.

The report – apparently overlooked by a Washington press corps awash in leaked Bargewell documents and secret Naval Criminal Investigative Service reports – shows that Marine Corps intelligence operatives were advised of the scheme to demonize the Marines by an informant named Muhannad Hassan Hamadi. The informant was snared by 3/1 Marines on December 11 2005 and decided to cooperate.

The attack was carried out by multiple cells of local Wahabi extremists and well-paid local gunmen from Al Asa’ib al-Iraq [the Clans of the People of Iraq] that were led by Al Qaeda foreign fighters, the summary claims. Their case was bolstered by Marine signal intercepts revealing that the al Qaeda fighters planned to videotape the attacks and exploit the resulting carnage for propaganda purposes…

During the November Haditha battle, the insurgents secreted themselves among local civilians to guarantee pursuing Marines would catch innocent civilians in the ensuing crossfire. On January 6, 2006 six insurgents who tried to do the same thing at another location in Haditha were turned in to Coalition authorities before they could mount a similar assault, the report says…

The captured insurgents revealed the attack was planned in Albu Hyatt, a nearby town where numerous Marines have been killed and wounded since the beginning of the war. The two main elements of the attack were the IED-initiated ambush on Route Chestnut and two IED ambushes planned along the so-called River Road that parallels the Euphrates River about 1.5 kilometers north of the Chestnut location.

The prisoners claimed the multi-pronged assault on the Marines was intended to garner local support by discrediting the Marines among the civilian population. If the coordinated attack had gone off as planned all three IED ambushes would have been sprung on the patrolling Marines almost simultaneously, the prisoners said. The insurgents plan depended on the Marines aggressively responding to the assaults to create as much carnage as possible.

As the Jawa Report says, “Help in spreading the propaganda from Democrats, notably Jack Murtha, and a compliant mainstream press was a bonus for the terrorists.” How dumb do YOU feel, Murtha?

Bryan Preston at Hot Air has some interesting questions of his own.

This document is one among many that are related in some way to the case, but it cuts against Murtha’s entire body of statements on Haditha. It suggests, and with some credibility, that Haditha was an enemy op that went well if not according to plan. If Murtha knew of this report, but accused the Marines of murder “in cold blood” anyway, then he had to have been aware of the possibility that he was assisting an enemy op against our troops. If he didn’t know of this report, then his informants inside the Corps were not telling him the whole story. He still should not have been out front accusing the Marines of murder, but he may have been misled by his source or sources. Which raises the question, who were his sources and why would they plant an incomplete accounting of the case with Rep. Murtha?

So what now?  Will SSGT Frank Wuterich be cleared?  How about the rest of the Haditha Marines?  Still waiting on Murtha’s apology.  I’m guessing it’ll be a long time coming.  Sort of like John Kerry’s Form 180.

We need to keep the pressure on.  This is long past “travesty,” or even “tragedy.”  It’s a circus, and it’s disgusting.   Shame on everyone who’s ever touched this case and not seen the truth–or ignored it.  Then again, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.  Remember the Pendleton 8?  How about the Iron Triangle case?  Ilario Pantano? Roger Maynulet? Daniel King?  That’s what I thought.

A bittersweet victory for not only SGT Frank Wuterich, but all of us who have been working on these cases for so long.

CAMP PENDLETON — A Marine Corps official has recommended that murder charges be dismissed against a Camp Pendleton squad leader accused in the deaths of 17 civilians killed in the Iraqi city of Haditha two years ago.

The official, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, said in a recommendation obtained by the North County Times that rather than face murder charges, squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich should be tried for the lesser offense of negligent homicide in the deaths of five children and two women.

Ware recommended 10 other murder charges against Wuterich be dismissed.

“I believe after reviewing all the evidence that no trier of fact can conclude Staff Sgt. Wuterich formed the criminal intent to kill,” Ware wrote in reference to the women and children. “When a Marine fails to exercise due care and civilians die, the charge of negligent homicide, and not murder, is appropriate.”

Ware’s report, issued to prosecutors and defense attorneys this week, found the evidence against Wuterich contradictory. Ware’s role as the case’s investigating officer is akin to that of a judge presiding over a pretrial hearing.

“The case against Staff Sgt. Wuterich is simply not strong enough to conclude he committed murder beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ware wrote. “Almost all witnesses have an obvious bias or prejudice.” [emphasis mine]

Michelle Malkin is asking where Murtha is. I’m going to take a wild guess and say hamming it up with some bribe money somewhere.

I disagree with Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive on the appropriateness of negligent homicide charges, as I don’t believe any of the Marines involved should be charged with a thing. However, I do believe that Tim McGirk should be strung up. I believe that John Murtha should be strung up. And every NCIS agent who worked this case should be strung up. They lied, they destroyed evidence, they made up statements, they used tactics that no self-respecting liberal would ever allow against some terrorist virgin-seeker to have–after shooting American Marines, women, or children, mind you.

This whole debacle is disgusting, and I’d like to spend five minutes in a padded, soundproof room with any of those pieces of trash that dared do this to the ones who defend us.

You already know exactly where we stand on the events of Haditha. We will not ever waver from that viewpoint. We will do everything in our power to fight for the freedom and exoneration of those Marines. They are OUR BOYS, and while they’ve shed their blood into the filthy dust of Iraq, we will now cover them with our care and unequivocal support. And we will fight, fight, FIGHT until they are released.

I’ve been collecting info on Haditha since Murtha’s asinine accusations but I haven’t had time to post the entire trove in one article. Now is as good a time as any, and I’ll update it as new info is released.

Some of the following details may be stuff you’ve heard over the past week, but I GUARANTEE that some of it is so NEW and UNPUBLICIZED that you have NOT heard it before.

You are about to learn more about that hole called Haditha than you ever cared to know. You are about to learn details about this case that the media is hushing up. The media has finally found their My Lai, and they will do their damnedest to ensure they get to keep it. Well, over my dead body.

continue reading…