For GOP only

[Cknolls]

Where is the coverage of this story in the MSM?

[southsider2k5]

He should be investigated and recuse himself from the committee that will vote on the Fannie Mae give-a-way in minutes. WHAT A JOKE! But he's a donkey so the same rules do not apply. Everyone talks about Enron. What about the Fannie Mae accounting debacle. Raines, Johnson, Gorelick. How much did they pocket from the "accounting errors"? Over $100 million dollars. I'm sure the investigations will happen when Barry brings change to Washington; and then monkeys will fly from you know where.

 

Not to mention the influence peddling that has gone on with this. That is the most disturbing part of things.

[southsider2k5]

the sad thing is that nothing happens to him for smearing the marines.

 

Well, maybe not...

 

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=67434

 

IN THE MILITARY

Haditha Marine prepares to sue Murtha over smear

Congressman had accused soldiers of killing 'in cold blood'

Posted: June 18, 2008

6:14 pm Eastern

 

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

 

 

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani

 

With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers.

 

In an interview with nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Savage, the lead attorney for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani said he and his client will look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk, who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents.

 

But the attorney, Brian Rooney, said nothing will happen immediately because he wants Chessani, described as a devout Christian and the father of six homeschooled children, completely "out of the woods" legally before any action is taken. The government, through Lt. Col. S.M. Sullivan, today filed a notice that it would appeal the case to the next judicial level.

 

As WND reported, a military judge at Camp Pendleton in California yesterday dismissed charges that Chessani failed to properly investigate the Nov. 19, 2005 incident in which 24 Iraqi men, women and children were killed.

 

Rooney, an attorney for the Thomas More Law Center who served a tour of duty in Iraq himself, is urging citizens to tell their representatives in Congress and military officials that they want the case to come to an end.

 

"At some point you have to have somebody in the chain of command, whether it's civilian or military, saying enough is enough," said Rooney, who served with Chessani in the second battle of Fallujah.

 

Rooney told Savage the Haditha case is the largest investigation in the history of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with 65 agents assigned by the government.

 

The filing of charges against Chessani was approved by Gen. James Mattis, then commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command and commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. Mattis has been promoted to commander of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and commander of U.S. Joint Forces.

 

"This is the most important case since Vietnam, if not before," Rooney said. "There's no doubt about it."

 

He noted the New York Times featured the case on the front page when it was being compared by war critics to the infamous My Lai massacre in Vietnam. But now, with evidence the Haditha accusations were a smear, the story has been relegated to the back pages.

 

The military judge, Col. Steve Folsom, dismissed Chessani's charges without prejudice, giving permission for the prosecutors to continue trying to build a case that began in December 2006.

 

Four Marines were charged with murder and another four with not properly investigating the incident.

 

Defense lawyers contend insurgents deliberately attacked the Marines from hiding places where they surrounded themselves with civilians to use as shields. The defense insisted Chessani promptly reported the events to his superiors and that nobody in the chain of command believed there was any wrongdoing on the part of the Marines.

 

Libel and defamation

 

Rooney acknowledged to Savage it's difficult to sue a sitting congressman, but he believes it can be done.

 

"If he leaves his realm of speaking from the congressman's point of view … then he can be sued for libel and defamation," Rooney said.

 

The Time magazine story, according to Rooney, was planted by an insurgent propaganda agent. Publishing of the story was soon followed by a May 17, 2006, news conference by Murtha. The congressman announced he had been told by the highest levels of the Marine Corps there was no firefight and Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

 

"All the information I get, it comes from the commanders, it comes from people who know what they're talking about," Murtha told reporters at the time.

 

Murtha's assertions, however, conflicted with results from the military's own investigations. An initial probe by Army Col. G.A. Watt found no indications coalition forces "intentionally targeted, engaged and killed noncombatants." Later, Army Maj. Gen. Aldon Bargewell found no cover-up.

 

Nevertheless, the Marine Corps eventually brought charges against Chessani and seven other Marines.

 

But now the cases against Lance Cpls. Stephen Tatum and Justin Sharratt, Capts. Randy Stone and Lucas McConnell and Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz have been dropped. First Lt. Andrew Grayson has been acquitted, leaving only the case of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich untested in court and Chessani prosecutors facing the hurdles of the appeal process.

 

WND previously reported a military jury of seven officers acquitted Grayson of all charges.

 

The ruling by Col. Folsom yesterday followed a previous decision in which he confirmed evidence of unlawful command influence.

 

The evidence indicated two generals who controlled Chessani's case were influenced by Marine lawyer Col. John Ewers, who was allowed to attend at least 25 closed-session meetings in which the case was discussed.

 

Throwing Marines under the bus

 

Rooney acknowledged the Haditha case taken a toll on the Marine Corps.

 

"There's no doubt it's affected recruiting," he told Savage. "How could you have your sons or daughters join the Marine Corps when you're not sure the government will protect them?"

 

Rooney was asked by Savage why he thought Murtha, a former Marine himself, accused the officers and enlisted men.

 

"In my opinion, it's clear it was done during the election cycle, it was done to bolster himself in the party," the attorney said. "He was vying for a leadership position, and if he had to throw some Marines under the bus to do so, that was the cost of power for him."

 

He hopes soon politicians will weigh in on the case in support of Chessani and the others.

 

"I would think all politicians, especially politicians that have military records, should say something about this case," he said.

 

"In a horrible and very complex environment, when you have an enemy that's using women and children as shields, you should always give the benefit of the doubt to the Marine or soldier," said Rooney. "You should never bring him back and put him in front of a court martial."

[lostfan]

Is it even possible to sue an elected gov't official like that?

 

Not saying he shouldn't do it, he totally should.

[southsider2k5]

Is it even possible to sue an elected gov't official like that?

 

Not saying he shouldn't do it, he totally should.

 

I don't think they are immune from defimation, slander, and libel...

[lostfan]

I don't think they are immune from defimation, slander, and libel...

I'm trying to recall if it's ever been done before.

[bmags]

actually they are immune from all those things if said on the floor.

[Balta1701]

actually they are immune from all those things if said on the floor.

But he's said a lot more than things on the floor, he's done them on 60 minutes, press conferences, etc. There's quite a video trail of evidence...the issue is going to be proving whether he went beyond the facts maliciously.

[BearSox]

This is similar to what that stripper and lawyer did to the Duke lacrosse players...

[EvilMonkey]

You know, all this talk about various Obama 'gotchas' supposedly out there got me thinking. They should stop worrying about wheter Michells hates whitey or not, or if Obama is really an American. Instead, they should look for who really catapulted Obama into the political world, and why. Who leaked the sex info about Jack Ryan? Info from a sealed court case comes out, conveniently after the primaries when there really isn't time to get a serious challenger (C'mon, really. Alan keyes? Yeah, right.) so that Obama just walks right into the Senate without a challenge. And once there, the talks about 'President' start almost immediately. Then he gets tapped to give a speech, and the liberal white-guilt establishment goes gaga. The rest may be history. So, who leaked that info, and what, if any, reasoning was behind it? Hmmmm....

 

(Sorry guys, my tinfoil is a bit tight today, but that question has lingered on for me for a while now. It's been a long day.)

[Balta1701]

You know, all this talk about various Obama 'gotchas' supposedly out there got me thinking. They should stop worrying about wheter Michells hates whitey or not, or if Obama is really an American. Instead, they should look for who really catapulted Obama into the political world, and why. Who leaked the sex info about Jack Ryan? Info from a sealed court case comes out, conveniently after the primaries when there really isn't time to get a serious challenger (C'mon, really. Alan keyes? Yeah, right.) so that Obama just walks right into the Senate without a challenge. And once there, the talks about 'President' start almost immediately. Then he gets tapped to give a speech, and the liberal white-guilt establishment goes gaga. The rest may be history. So, who leaked that info, and what, if any, reasoning was behind it? Hmmmm....

 

(Sorry guys, my tinfoil is a bit tight today, but that question has lingered on for me for a while now. It's been a long day.)

That would be an interesting thing to know.

 

But if you're going to piss off the Borg...you're going to have trouble I don't care who you are.

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

That would be an interesting thing to know.

 

But if you're going to piss off the Borg...you're going to have trouble I don't care who you are.

 

I miss 7 of 9. Something so HOT about her militant style, but sexy body. mmmm...

[southsider2k5]

You know, all this talk about various Obama 'gotchas' supposedly out there got me thinking. They should stop worrying about wheter Michells hates whitey or not, or if Obama is really an American. Instead, they should look for who really catapulted Obama into the political world, and why. Who leaked the sex info about Jack Ryan? Info from a sealed court case comes out, conveniently after the primaries when there really isn't time to get a serious challenger (C'mon, really. Alan keyes? Yeah, right.) so that Obama just walks right into the Senate without a challenge. And once there, the talks about 'President' start almost immediately. Then he gets tapped to give a speech, and the liberal white-guilt establishment goes gaga. The rest may be history. So, who leaked that info, and what, if any, reasoning was behind it? Hmmmm....

 

(Sorry guys, my tinfoil is a bit tight today, but that question has lingered on for me for a while now. It's been a long day.)

 

It depends on what you're definition of "is" is.

[Balta1701]

I miss 7 of 9. Something so HOT about her militant style, but sexy body. mmmm...

Why do you think I started watching Shark?

[BearSox]

You know, all this talk about various Obama 'gotchas' supposedly out there got me thinking. They should stop worrying about wheter Michells hates whitey or not, or if Obama is really an American. Instead, they should look for who really catapulted Obama into the political world, and why. Who leaked the sex info about Jack Ryan? Info from a sealed court case comes out, conveniently after the primaries when there really isn't time to get a serious challenger (C'mon, really. Alan keyes? Yeah, right.) so that Obama just walks right into the Senate without a challenge. And once there, the talks about 'President' start almost immediately. Then he gets tapped to give a speech, and the liberal white-guilt establishment goes gaga. The rest may be history. So, who leaked that info, and what, if any, reasoning was behind it? Hmmmm....

 

(Sorry guys, my tinfoil is a bit tight today, but that question has lingered on for me for a while now. It's been a long day.)

I wonder what life would be like right now if Jack Ryan didn't get busted for wanting to have freaky sex in public with his hot wife... Where would Obama be now if Ryan won?

[lostfan]

Actually it was during the GOP primaries that his GOP candidates were pushing to get the records released if I'm not mistaken. And that Hillary Clinton-esque tactic came back to bite them in the ass, because it left it up there in the open for the Dems to use against him.

[BearSox]

Actually it was during the GOP primaries that his GOP candidates were pushing to get the records released if I'm not mistaken. And that Hillary Clinton-esque tactic came back to bite them in the ass, because it left it up there in the open for the Dems to use against him.

I believe when the GOP asked Ryan about it, and he said there is nothing embarrassing in them. I guess he was hoping that the court still wouldn't have open up the papers (which they shouldn't have in the first place, considering both Jack and Jeri did not want them revealed to protect their son), and thus it would look like the GOP wasn't trying to cover anything up.

Edited June 21, 2008 by BearSox

[lostfan]

I believe when the GOP asked Ryan about it, and he said there is nothing embarrassing in them. I guess he was hoping that the court still wouldn't have open up the papers (which they shouldn't have in the first place, considering both Jack and Jeri did not want them revealed to protect their son), and thus it would look like the GOP wasn't trying to cover anything up.

He played his cards wrong there. The whole thing ended up backfiring on him.

 

The idea didn't seem to come from the Dems though, that's all I was saying. But they were more happy to use it against him of course.

[BearSox]

He played his cards wrong there. The whole thing ended up backfiring on him.

 

The idea didn't seem to come from the Dems though, that's all I was saying. But they were more happy to use it against him of course.

If I recall, there was some controversy as well about Ryan having some guy video tape Obama's every move.

[lostfan]

If I recall, there was some controversy as well about Ryan having some guy video tape Obama's every move.

BearSox goes to the Wikipedia school of political information... haha

 

It's ok, so do I because I was overseas at that time and I don't remember much.

[BearSox]

BearSox goes to the Wikipedia school of political information... haha

 

It's ok, so do I because I was overseas at that time and I don't remember much.

I seriously remember that though. I remember back in 04, my whole summer basically consisted of playing MVP baseball and listening to the radio while I did so, and I remember hearing about the senate race and such...

 

MVP, what an amazingly addictive game that was.

[lostfan]

For 2004 I feel like I stepped into a timewarp in January and then came out in January 2005. I don't remember much about that year at all, I come back and got people's kids walking and talking and whatnot, every song on the radio is something I never heard before, I don't remember Juan Uribe actually being a good hitter for a while. I feel the same way about the end of 02 and beginning of 03. I can just remember major highlights since I was on the net all the time, like the Bears trading Booker for Ogunleye etc.

Edited June 21, 2008 by lostfan

[Gene Honda Civic]

 

Mission accomplished, Rep. McCotter

[BearSox]

Mission accomplished, Rep. McCotter

That was positively fantastic! My favorite was diplomacy really means magic.

[mr_genius]

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2...0620123425.aspx

 

Dobbs of CNN calls for Bush to be impeached because of salmonella outbreak.

 

haha