Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld set up a “shadow body” to oversee the investigation into Marines who had been condemned publicly by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., following a firefight in Haditha, Iraq, according to a law firm defending one of the servicemen.
“The hysteria and media firestorm over Abu Ghraib and the Pat Tillman investigations led to fear of a similar media reaction to the Haditha incident, causing the military’s civilian bosses to set up this shadow oversight body,” said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.
 Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani |
His firm is defending Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani from charges stemming from the Marines’ Haditha encounter with insurgents.
“This extraordinary action politicized the military justice system and was a clear signal to top generals that they were expected to hold individuals criminally responsible. The investigation turned into a quest for a prosecution – not justice,” Thompson said.
The law firm said its confirmation of this “shadow body” may well be “the most damning evidence of the political motivations and influence over the ongoing prosecutions.”
The Marines are being prosecuted criminally for their house-to-house battle to ferret out ambushing insurgents Nov. 19, 2005. The insurgents fired on Marines while hiding among women and children in homes in the Iraqi town.
The firefight resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians, “a result the insurgents wanted to happen,” the national public interest law firm said.
Even though details of the battle and the civilian deaths were reported throughout the chain of Marine command at the time, all officers, including top generals, determined it was a tragic and unfortunate consequence of urban warfare and the Marines were justified in their actions to defend themselves.
Thompson previously said a Marine judge’s refusal to allow Murtha to be questioned about his statements and where he got his information about the case – Murtha described the Marines as shooting civilians in “cold blood” – indicated a political influence on the outcome.
“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,” Thompson said. “In many ways this is a trial like the one in ‘Alice in Wonderland” – the verdict first and then the trial.”
Chessani is accused of “dereliction of duty” and “orders” violations the Haditha incident. At the time, Chessani was commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, one of the most decorated battalions in the nation’s history.
There were 14 Marine casualties, one Marine killed in action and 13 others injured when insurgents attacked from occupied homes.
Even before the investigation was complete, Murtha “made the rounds on TV news programs claiming there was no firefight in Haditha Nov. 19, 2005, and that the Marines killed innocent Iraqi civilians in ‘cold blood’ and officers ‘covered it up,'” the law firm said. “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.”
Murtha’s comments, and the resulting investigation, followed an “inflammatory Time Magazine article written by reporter Tim McGirk – later proven to be false – calling the deaths of the civilians a massacre,” the law firm said. It said the information had been planted by a “known al-Qaida propaganda operative.”
The law firm said proof the investigation was a political vendetta, rather than the pursuit of justice, “is supported by several details of the investigations, including:”
- “An admission by the director of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service that more than 65 investigators were assigned to the case, which in his opinion was the largest investigative effort in department’s history.”
- “Formation of ‘Legal Team Charlie’ composed of military lawyers reassigned from other units and reserve officers activated for the purpose of prosecuting this case – all highly unusual.”
- “The Secretary of Navy countermanded a determination by Gen. James Mattis, USMC, that Col. Stephen Davis, USMC, Lt. Col. Chessani’s regimental commander, would receive a Non-Punitive Letter of Caution, which would not be part of his permanent record. Gen. Mattis’ decision was overridden by the Navy Secretary, who ordered a Letter of Censure, a more severe punishment, which effectively ended this fine Marine officer’s career. As the consolidated convening authority in all the Haditha investigations, Gen. Mattis’ decision, under normal circumstances, would be absolute and final.”
Thompson said he is “deeply troubled by the fact that the desire to appease the liberal anti-war press and politicians has led to the prosecution of innocent Marines for purely political purposes.”
“These prosecutions will become a scandal of historic proportions unless terminated by independently minded and virtuous military judges,” he said.
A motion raising the issue of “Undue Command Influence” already had been filed on behalf of the defendants, and the Law Center now will file its own motion on behalf of Chessani.
After 20 years of service to the Marines, he faces potential maximum punishment of three years in jail and dismissal and loss of retirement benefits, the law center said.
Spokesman Brian Rooney for the law center told WND that while Murtha’s position was that there was no firefight, parts of the battle actually were captured on video.
The court-martial for Chessani is scheduled to begin April 28.
Chessani, who grew up in Rangely, Colo., and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado, was one of eight originally accused in the case.
Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum also has been ordered to be court-martialed, and the case against Cpl. Andrew Grayson also remained pending, as does the case against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, although the charges against him were reduced.
Two other officers, Capts. Randy Stone and Lucas McConnell, have had their charges dismissed. Charges against Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz also were dismissed, as were charges against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt.
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