CAMP PENDLETON -- CBS prevailed Thursday in a battle with Marine prosecutors who wanted all the network's unaired tapes from an interview with the key figure in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005.

A military judge granted the network's request to deny a subpoena seeking all the outtakes from a "60 Minutes" interview with Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich first broadcast in 2007.

The judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, ruled that forcing the network to hand over that material would place the network in the role of being a tool of the government.

"There is a qualified newsgatherers privilege and it is applicable here based on concerns about a chilling effect on the press," Meeks declared. "The press has an interest in being able to prepare and preserve stories without being an investigative arm of the government."

Prosecutors told Meeks they were not ready to say if they will appeal his ruling.

Wuterich is charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless engerment and obstruction of justice for his role in leading his squad of Camp Pendleton Marines in an assault after a Nov. 19, 2005, bombing in the Iraqi city of Haditha that killed one of his men.

The assault resulted in the deaths of men, women and children, none of whom were later proven to have any ties to the bombing or the Iraqi insurgency.

Wuterich has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and remains on duty at Camp Pendleton as his case works it way through the military court system.

Wuterich and his attorneys granted "60 Minutes" an interview in late 2006. The move was privately criticized by lawyers representing other Marines accused of wrongdoing at Haditha, saying it unnecessarily exposed Wuterich to prosecution.

A "60 Minutes" spokesman in New York hailed the ruling, saying it recognized the importance of newsgathering protections.

"Today's significant victory confirms the bedrock principle of a free press," he said. "CBS was right to fight this subpoena vigorously."

Prosecutors had argued in hearings on the issue conducted Wednesday and Thursday that there was no clearly established First Amendment protection for journalists in the military justice system.

Capt. Nick Gannon told Meeks that the unaired portions of the interview, a little more than four hours in all, needed to be seen by the prosecution.

"What's newsworthy to CBS and what is important to the government are not necessarily the same thing," Gannon said, explaining why he wanted to view all the footage from the Wuterich interview. "It is a not a fishing expedition."

CBS attorney Carl Benedetti argued that prosecutors would gain nothing from the unaired portions and preserving the network's right to not hand over that material was paramount for an unencumbered press.

"The media does need to be protected," Benedetti said.

Meeks had viewed the unaired material privately after an appellate court ruled that he was wrong when he decided last year to reject the subpoena without first seeing what it contained.

In his ruling Thursday after seeing it, the judge said the material in fact did not contain anything that wasn't available to prosecutors already through voluminous documents from multiple investigations of the Haditha killings.

"All the statements are consistent with prior statements he has made," Meeks said of Wuterich, who was in the courtroom but did not speak during the session.

"It might be nice to have, but it's not critical," Meeks told Gannon and two other prosecutors assigned to the case.

Numerous news organizations, including The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, had filed briefs in support of CBS when the issue went to appellate court.

Four Camp Pendleton officers and four enlisted men were charged with crimes at Haditha. All but Wuterich and the battalion commander at Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, have since been exonerated.

Chessani, accused of dereliction of duty for not ordering a full-scale probe of the killings, is waiting for an appellate court ruling on whether dismissal of charges against him should stand.

It is not clear when Wuterich's trial by military court-martial will take place. Meeks retires this week and a new judge is being appointed to the case. The new judge's time required to get up to speed on the case and other pretrial issues must be completed before a trial.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.