Marine Lt. Colonel Chessani Thrown Under the Bus for Political Reasons; Fair Trial an Illusion
Thomas Moore Law Center
ANN ARBOR, MI
“Military Judge Colonel Stephen Folsom’s, USMC, ruling yesterday refusing our request to take the deposition of Congressman John Murtha, D-PA, is the latest indication that it will be impossible for Marine Lt. Colonel Chessani to get a fair trial regarding November 19, 2005, Haditha incident,” said Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, the Ann Arbor, Michigan based public interest law firm defending Lt. Col. Chessani.
“This entire prosecution is politically motivated and stinks to high heaven. Denying us the right to take Murtha’s deposition so that we could show undue command influence, as well as denial of our request for production of documents in the possession of Lt. Col. Chessani’s superiors makes it impossible for us to render this loyal Marine officer the effective assistance of counsel he deserves — they are attempting to throw him under the bus. In many ways this is a trial like the one in Alice in Wonderland—the verdict first and then the trial.”
Continued Thompson, “In the next couple of weeks we will reveal startling facts tracing the impetus for this prosecution to the highest levels of military and civilian command.”
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani is charged with “dereliction of duty” and “orders” violations stemming from the terrorist attack in the once insurgent-laden town of Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005. At the time, Chessani was battalion commander of the Third Battalion, First Marine Regiment – one of the most decorated battalions in our nation’s history. This battle cost the Marines fourteen casualties – including one Marine killed-in-action. The insurgents, hiding amongst women and children in civilian homes, caused the death of fifteen civilians as the Marines fought back.
Months before the investigation was completed, Congressman Murtha made the rounds on TV news programs claiming there was no firefight in Haditha on November 19, 2005, and that the Marines killed innocent Iraqi civilians in “cold blood” and officers “covered it up.” Murtha publicly stated he received his information from the highest levels of the Marine Command – this statement in itself is enough to cause a dismissal of the charges because of undue command influence.
Congressman Murtha holds significant influence over military appropriations and in the past has boasted he can get the Pentagon to do what he wants.
Murtha is the same person caught on tape negotiating bribes with Arab Sheiks during the FBI’s 1980 Abscam investigation – he was an un-indicted coconspirator in that case. Clearly, the Haditha incident provided ammunition for his well known anti-war stance.
Murtha also has ties to Navy Secretary Donald Winters. Winters had over 65 NCIS investigators assigned to investigate Lt. Col. Chessani and the Marines charged in the case. The NCIS Director claimed that to be the highest number of investigators assigned to an investigation in the history of the NCIS.
Hearings on the motions ruled on by Colonel Folsom were held February 20, 2008, and Thursday, February 21, 2008. Law Center attorney Rob Muise and detailed military defense counsel Lt. Colonel John Shelbourne, USMC, presented oral arguments on the five motions at Camp Pendleton, California.
Lt. Col. Chessani, one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq, now faces dismissal (an officer’s equivalent of a dishonorable discharge), loss of retirement, and imprisonment of up to 3 years.
The actual court-martial trial is scheduled to begin April 28, 2008.
Thompson concluded, “We remain undaunted despite these latest rulings. We will continue to vigorously defend Lt. Col. Chessani against this politically-driven prosecution. At least one more motion hearing is scheduled in April, and we intend to file several more motions that will be argued during that time.”
Also found here……………..
Murtha granted exemption from explaining
wnd
A member of Congress who publicly condemned U.S. Marines fighting the war on terror in Iraq for killing civilians in “cold blood” is being granted an exemption that means he will not have to answer questions about his statements, including his earlier explanation that his information came from the highest levels of the Marine Command. ….see liknk at WND for entire article
Wild Thing’s comment……..
He is a Traitor to The Marine Corps, he is a Traitor to his country and any fool that allows that jerk to remain in office is also a Traitor.
I know that some of the bible thumpers may beat up on me for this, but I hope this bastard dies slow and painful death… and then rots in Hell!
May God not have mercy on this bastards soul.
I will never for get this either that Murtha did……………
Watch this Senate Democrat John ‘ABSCAM’ Murtha run like a scared girl and order the peasants around when he’s confronted with Apologizing to the Marines he slandered.
When he wasn’t busy over the past year or so arguing that we ought to fight al Qaeda in Iraq from our bases in Okinawa and Diego Garcia, Rep. Jack “Abscam” Murtha has been busy stuffing his face with pork, behaving questionably over appropriations and smearing US Marines. Now that three of the Marines Murtha prejudged to be guilty of cold-blooded murder have been cleared of all charges, Murtha ought to answer for what he has been saying about them.
Jason Mattera of the Young America’s Foundation confronted Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) for accusing the Haditha Marines of murder “in cold blood.” Most of the charges in that trial have been dropped.
Democrat Murtha wrongly accused Marines of Murder, refuses to apologize…runs away from interview.
Defeatocrat Jack Murtha and Commie Lee Harvey Oswald are one in the same for wearing USMC Leatherneck uniforms?
This is what WE are up against for these are two signs from Cal-Berkely and the Murtha advocates:
“BEIRUT 1983 – 240 Marines killed – Live like pigs, Die like pigs ….. Treason to the USA is LOYALTY to humanity!”
http://www.neoconexpress.blogspot.com (Joe Gelman)
Like Vietnam, it’s the REMF’s that will cause us to eventually loose this thing. You’ll never beat our military on the battlefield but you can beat them in the political arena.
George Bush appointed the Sec of the Navy, not Jerk Mrutha. George Bush sent our troops into Iraq to conduct a war, not Jerk Murtha. So, why is George Bush, the Commander-in-Chief allowing this to happen to the Marines he sent into war? But then, why is George Bush allowing his “good firned” Johnny Sutton to send Border Guards to prison for shooting at drug runners?
The military JAG lawyers and judges can be as dirty and dishonest as their civilian legal beagle cousins. This Marine Corps judge Col. Folsom may be using Lt. Col. Chessani as a scapegoat so Folsom can get his 15 minutes of fame, which the trial will probably turn into 15 months.
The JAG trials will get good men killed as combat soldiers hesitate to defend themselves in firefights for fear they will be prosecuted by overzealous JAG remfs.
Murtha is the definition of asshole!
I wonder if this Lt.Col. fell out of favor with somebody, and now it is coming back to roast him.
This is a travesty of justice or no justice at all.
If the rest of the members of the platoon who were originally charged, are not guilty then how can the CO be guilty of Dereliction of Duty ? It makes no sense at all.
Chrissie, you and Darth , Dr. Strangelove, Bob, Tom and Mark have said it all. Murtha is a gutless worm, denying the accused of facing his accuser in a court of law, even a general courts-marshal allows that, it’s unconscionable!!!
I have to go and polish up my hand tool and clean my impact wrench or I’d stay and chat.
It would be revealing to hear the three remaining presidential candidates answer how they would respond to the malicious and false attacks against our military from Jack Murtha and others if they were the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. George Bush wimped out. Would they?
Darth they sure are, That makes me especially ticked at them that they wore any of our military uniforms in their whole life.
drstrangeloveb52isok, well said and thank you too for the link.
Bob I have wondered about that, why can’t the CIC step in and have something to say about all of this.
Tom yes maybe that is what they are doing using Lt. Col. Chessani as a scapegoat like that.
Mark, this is a really bad thing to happen in so many ways. For morale too I would think when others know about all of this and are still in country fighting. I would not want any of our guys to have to think twice when they shoot and worry about being PC or careful of some lawsuit or something.
Jack oh wow I LOVE your those, thank you so much for the links to them. Absolutley fantastic!
Les oh I agree so much. I would love if these stupid debates had real questions in them, hard hitting questions of things happening and not the idiotic what if questions they have been asking.
In the next couple of years you’ll find out that George W. Bush – like Ronald Reagan – suffered a lot of memory lapses in the last few years of their presidency. W can read from a manuscript or telecommunicator, but is incoherrent in other speech matters. Whether it’s Alzheimers setting in or other medical … senility symptoms, we’ll find out in a few years what’s wrong with W. Notice the slurred speech patterns as well, and how his facial expressions and body language (gestures) don’t jive with his spoken messages.
Darth, it is possible.
Stress kills, it causes cancer and all kinds of other illnesses. Bush has been under a lot of stress more then other Presidents when it comes to how the left has attacked him from day one of even his first term for President.