General calls for investigation of leak
By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer | ∞
Marine Lt. General James N. Mattis
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NORTH COUNTY ---- Marine Corps officials confirmed Friday that Lt. Gen. James Mattis has called for an investigation into who leaked documents recently from a massive investigation of the 2005 deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
An attorney representing one of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged in connection with the incident said Friday it was essential Mattis order the probe given the notoriety caused by a Jan. 6 Washington Post article. The newspaper cited interviews with eyewitnesses who allege four of the Marines had gunned down five men.
"A lot of people already think the Marines accused in this case are not going to get a fair shake," said Jack Zimmerman, an attorney representing Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a civilian agency under the control of the Department of the Navy, conducted the investigation.
Last month, charges ranging from unpremeditated murder to negligent homicide were filed against four enlisted Marines from Camp Pendleton in the case that generated worldwide outcry when first reported in March. Four officers have been charged with dereliction of duty and related offenses for the way they handled the initial investigation.
The eight men are with Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The enlisted men are: Tatum, 25; Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 26; Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, 24; and Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 22. The officers are: Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 42; Capt. Randy Stone, 34; 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, 25; and Capt. Lucas McConnell, 31.
The civilian deaths occurred Nov. 19, 2005. After a roadside bomb exploded beneath a Humvee and killed one of 13 Marines in a convoy, four Marines are alleged to have shot five men who drove by the scene. Members of the squad then stormed several nearby homes in search of insurgents, and by the time it was all over, 19 other civilians ---- including women and children ---- were dead.
On Friday, Zimmerman and Neal Puckett, who represents Wuterich, stated they had received copies of the letter from Mattis, who is commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command and Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force. Mattis is also the convening authority over the case.
Earlier this month, after stories began running in the Washington Post based on portions of the report, both attorneys sent letters to Mattis in which they called for him to initiate the investigation. Not doing so, they said, would pose a threat to their clients' ability to receive a fair trial.
On Friday, Puckett sent a prepared statement to the North County Times saying it was good to see that Mattis understands how important it is to investigate the leak.
"He (Mattis) wrote that he shares our concerns and that he has requested a Marine Corps Inspector General investigation into the source of the leak," Puckett stated.
The attorneys and Marine officials all declined to provide a copy of the letter to the North County Times.
However, Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson did confirm that the letter had been sent and its general contents.
Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (760) 740-5426 or wbennett@nctimes.com.
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Randy wrote on Jan 27, 2007 7:56 AM:Marines, investigated by Marines, judged by Marines, are not going to get a fair shake? Hmmmm. Maybe it was the victims who did not get a fair shake to begin with!
John1 wrote on Jan 27, 2007 11:14 AM:Marine Corps Inspector General? For l'il ol NCIS and the prosecution staff? Why would Mattis do that? Surely these two entities are beyond reproach.
Marc wrote on Jan 27, 2007 3:01 PM:Randy - Are you kidding? These Marines are all under the unbrella of the DoD. Do you think that SoD can't just make a call, threaten someone's career and make this all go away for "the sake of the nation"? Lawyers and judges do it all the time in the US Justice System - what makes you think that the same thing can't happen within the Corps. Do so research and find out just what the defense's ivestigative teams were given when they started their investigation. They were told that they would not be allowed to see an forensic evidence, that if they went into the area of the incident in Haditha, they were on their own, no military protection, nada. Dare we go further that autopsies were never done on the victims. So the simple fact that there were 24 dead bodies means that they were all killed by the Marines? Do you need a reminder that Haditha and the entire province is an insurgency hotbed. MAN! Learn the facts of the case and take your left-wing glasses off and realize what these men have at stake for simply wanting to serve their country.
Harry wrote on Jan 27, 2007 6:43 PM:Killing and beating civilians does not translate into Marines "serving their country", it more readily translates to "war crime" and "atrocity".
to Marc wrote on Jan 27, 2007 6:45 PM:San Diego County is a hot bed of racist intolerance jingoistic hatred and anti Iranian sentiment. That doesn't mean that random terrorism is warrented or excusable.
Wake up!! wrote on Jan 27, 2007 7:12 PM:I guess this should have been done in the Hamdania case as well. No way any of those men could get a fair trial with the immediate and overwhelming leaking of information that is now under scrutiny!!
Relativity wrote on Jan 27, 2007 7:39 PM:Isnt it amazing that when the story should be about the wrong doing, it becomes a story about "who leaked it".
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Jan 27, 2007 8:00 PM:To Marc: It's about time someone brought all that to light. If I say anything like that I get juvenile insults and gutter sniping attacks. But it's early yet; so, buckle up. AW4.
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Jan 27, 2007 8:08 PM:Excuse me, but I was under the impression that the people who got beat up were known insurgents who were running from the Marines. Gee...Who would expect in a war that some fleeing insurgents might get the crap kicked out of them. Do you think the fleeing, known, insurgents were going to shake hands and make nice when caught? Maybe in a Walt Disney fantasy for children. Certainly not in a hell hole insurgent infested town in Iraq.
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Jan 27, 2007 8:13 PM:What fascinates me is that there have been "leaks" to the media from the very beginning. The leaks have been many, the dam broke, and the case has been flooded. NOW, they decide to do something about it? What in the heck took so long? Whatever happened to government policy that leaks are not allowed? The whole thing...both cases, have been a farce from the get-go.
Wake up!! wrote on Jan 27, 2007 9:21 PM:To all who are so quick to believe NCIS and so quick to condemn Marines who fight for your right to have any opinion you like: You now have testimony from NCIS agents themselves saying that their notes and their report conflicts...why do you think that is?? And you have other testimony from other Marines that NCIS put things in their statements that they DID NOT SAY! Now you don't know any of these Marines or NCIS agents...so how is it that you are deciding who is lying and who is not?? Simple...it's just what YOU want to believe. There is no fact that you are basing it on. And you have no right to judge. Leaking is pretty relevant to these cases because FAIR TRIALS are pretty damned important. Apparently that doesn't fall in your line of thinking. Hope you never get in a position where you are not afforded that right. Then I'm sure you would have a different opinion. But NOTHING is at stake for YOU, personally in this...that makes it easy for you to spew all this. Thanks to AW4..who makes very valid points!
John1 to Harry wrote on Jan 27, 2007 9:24 PM:Harry, about which case do you write? Hamdania or Haditha? I am sure you agree that Haditha is yet to be argued, or even completely investigated... Mattis has already sent the investigators back to "do it again".
John1 to Randy wrote on Jan 27, 2007 9:25 PM:Randy, is your point that the Marines should NOT be treated fairly in recompense? That American citizens should be denied the rights promulgated under the Constitution?
John1 to "to Marc" wrote on Jan 27, 2007 9:28 PM:A hotbed of jingoistic hatred and anti-Iranian sentiment? Probably just as strident as the local Muslim outrage over 9-11 and the rapid turning in of the terrorists on the planes that lived here for months prior. Oh, what's that? Silence? Tacit approval? Wahhabist Sunni nonsense? Shia idiocy? Come back and be outraged when your religion becomes truly one of peace.
John1 to Relativity wrote on Jan 27, 2007 9:29 PM:Is not leaking the story "wrongdoing", as well?
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Jan 28, 2007 11:49 AM:To John1: Your comments to Marc at 9:28PM on the 27th: YES! YES!, and a "BIG" YES!!!!AW4.
Marc wrote on Feb 9, 2007 9:03 PM:Just so AW4 and John1 know--I am a Baptist. Do you have a problem with Baptists?
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Feb 12, 2007 6:09 PM:To Marc: I just came back to look at the comments and found your comment to me and to John1. I got it figured out. I totally agreed with comments made by "Marc" (you) at 3:01PM. Then I read the comment at 6:45PM by someone who directed his comment To "to Marc" (comment not made by you, the real Marc). Then I read John1's comment at 9:28PM which was addressed To "to Marc". THAT is the comment John1 made that I agreed with. If you are "Marc", the comments were directed to the guy who wrote to you; which was To "to Marc". This has happened before. I chewed someone out only to find that it was To to...! I hope this clears it up for you because I agreed with you and also am a Baptist. AW4.
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