Will Marine face more 'political persecution'?

Lt.
Col. Jeffrey Chessani

The "political persecution" of a Marine officer inspired by a diatribe against the U.S. military by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., may not be over yet.

That's according to the Thomas More Law Center, which has been working on the defense of Marine Lt. Col. Jeffery Chessani.

Chessani was the highest-ranking officer charged in the so-called "Haditha Massacre," when insurgents attacked U.S. Marines in Iraq while using civilians as shields. A series of investigations found nothing wrong until Murtha publicly accused the Marines of murdering Iraqis.

The case against Chessani was thrown out of military court and an appellate court affirmed the decision earlier.

But now the Thomas More Law Center said nearly four years after the firefight, following an investigation by more than 65 Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the expenditure of millions of dollars provided by U.S. taxpayers, the government continues to pursue Chessani.

The law firm said the staff judge advocate to the chief of the Marine corps confirmed Gen. James Conway has referred the Chessani prosecution to Lt. Gen. George Flynn of Quantico, Va., for disposition.

The action came after the government said it would not appeal a unanimous ruling from the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals affirming the dismissal of counts against Chessani.

But because the dismissal was without prejudice, the government had an open door to begin the prosecution all over, and now Flynn will make the decision about the future of any case against Chessani.

"This case started out as a political prosecution to appease the Iraqi government, anti-war media and politicians. Lt. Col. Chessani loyally served his commanders and nation for over 20 years in several wars. It's time for justice. I hope Lt. Gen. Flynn will make the right decision by stopping what is clearly now a political persecution of this loyal and patriotic combat officer," said president Richard Thompson.

The defense counsel said the "bogus charges" against Chessani were triggered by the house-to-house, room-by-room combat action by four Marines in his battalion after they were ambushed by insurgents in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.

A number of insurgents and 15 civilians died, which is not uncommon when insurgents use civilians as shields, the law firm said.

The allegations claimed Chessani failed to properly report and investigate the deaths, even though he immediately reported the action to his superiors, none of whom found a reason for any action other than to commend Chessani for his work.

"Marines are renowned for their courage and their willingness to follow their commanders into battle against all odds. Their commanders, on the other hand, owe justice to these brave men and women who face death for them. That obligation requires commanders to defend their troops when politicians attempt to make them political scapegoats," said Thompson.

The case against Chessani was dropped because of "Unlawful Command Influence" – essentially the impact an officer's statements or opinion would have on the decision-makers in a military trial.

As WND reported, the case against Chessani was originally dismissed when a judge ruled the charges were tainted because of improper closed-door meetings with investigators that gave credence to the defense's argument that Chessani was made a "political scapegoat" for the highly publicized Haditha incident.

Eventually eight Marines were charged, but cases against Lance Cpls. Stephen Tatum and Justin Sharratt, Capts. Randy Stone and Lucas McConnell and Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz were dropped. First Lt. Andrew Grayson was acquitted, leaving only the Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich case pending and Lt. Col. Chessani's case in appeals.

The enlisted Marines were charged with murder and the officers accused of failing to investigate the deaths.

The case developed only after Murtha publicly accused troops of "killing innocent civilians in cold blood."

Radio talk show host Michael Savage has supported Chessani and the Thomas More Law Center's work on the case.