Court-martial of Marine postponed over CBS subpoena
By: CHELSEA J. CARTER - Associated Press | ∞
SAN DIEGO -- A military prosecutor is appealing a judge's decision to throw out a subpoena for unaired footage of a "60 Minutes" interview given by a Marine squad leader charged in the killings of 24 Iraqis.
The appeal prompted the indefinite postponement of Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich's court-martial, which was scheduled to begin March 10, Wuterich's attorney, Mark Zaid, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Marine prosecutor Capt. Nicholas Gannon has said in court documents the unaired CBS footage is vital to the case because it contains admissions by Wuterich of crimes in the attack in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.
Wuterich "apparently admits in an unaired segment that he did in fact order his men to 'shoot first and ask questions later,"' Gannon said in a motion filed in early February.
Military judge Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks ruled last week that prosecutors did not need the CBS footage to get the evidence they needed.
A date has not been set to hear Gannon's appeal.
The subpoena stems from an interview aired on March 15, 2007, report on "60 Minutes" about the November 2005 deaths in Haditha, Iraq.
Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the deaths, which happened after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing a Humvee driver and wounding two other Marines.
Wuterich and a squad member allegedly shot five men at the scene, and Wuterich then allegedly ordered his squad into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians.
In the interview, Wuterich recounted to CBS correspondent Scott Pelley his recollection of the events that led to the deaths.
CBS has called the subpoena "unreasonable and oppressive," and CBS attorneys argued it should be quashed to prevent potential sources from being reluctant to talk to the news media.
The network had no comment on the prosecutor's appeal, said Sandra Genelius, a spokeswoman for CBS News, which is a division of CBS Corp.
A telephone call to a Marine spokesman seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Wuterich's attorney, Neal Puckett, has called the prosecution's effort a "fishing expedition" because they don't know what is in the unaired footage.
"You have to be able to show (the court) what you are after. Since they don't know what is in it, they can't make that showing," he said.
Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder in the case and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against four of the men have been dropped, and none of the others will face murder charges.
Still facing court-martial are 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, on charges of making false official statements, obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently separate from the Marine Corps; and Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., who is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations that he mishandled the aftermath of the Haditha shootings.
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DESERT BUG wrote on Mar 1, 2008 12:43 PM:More spinning from the prosecution. I'd like to know: Was the jury present during the hearing on this issue? If so, the prosecution has already achieved its goal by letting them hear what he contends. In a civilian court, juries are not privy to arguments on the admissability of evidence, for obvious reasons.
More Mind games wrote on Mar 1, 2008 9:17 PM:Very interesting turn of events. How did the prosecution get wind of the unaired footage? Did CBS help out and leak this info to Capt. Gannon and the prosecution? I think CBS doth prosteth too much in calling the subpoena "unreasonable and oppressive," c’mon CBS would love to see the Marines convicted of this ‘massacre”, so I believe they leaked what they could to help the Gannon and co. Or is this another of the prosecution’s psychological mind games? Where you as the poor defendant were in reach of having your day in court and “psych” another delay? Hmm
Disclaimer - The above is the opinion of the poster and in no way represents the views of NC Times
Massachusetts Democrat wrote on Mar 2, 2008 9:51 AM:Captain Gannon seems to want to hinge his case on whether SSgt. Wuterich told his men to 'shoot first and ask questions later'.
Even if SSgt. Wuterich uttered those words, it was hardly an original thought.
Every father of a Marine going back to 1775 has uttered those words to his son before being sent off to battle.
I told my son dozens of times a variation of the same theme . . . 'When in doubt, shoot.'
Captain Gannon, please indict me too sir for saying those words. I would be proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with SSgt. Wuterich.
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