Marine accused in Haditha case to sue Murtha

[ghb]

Marine accused in Haditha case to sue Murtha
Lawyers say congressman made false, defamatory statements to the press
Reuters


Updated: 12:41 a.m. ET Aug 2, 2006
WASHINGTON - A U.S. Marine suspected in the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will sue Rep. John Murtha for libel after the war critic made public comments about the case and accused the serviceman of murder, attorneys said Wednesday.

Lawyers representing Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 26, said Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, made false, misleading and defamatory statements.

The case, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, says Murtha’s statements in the press about the case have pressured the Pentagon to pursue charges against Wuterich and other Marines, and to use them as ”scapegoats” to prove that allegations of atrocities committed against Iraqis will be pursued, “no matter how baseless.”

“The false, misleading and defamatory statements disseminated by Mr. Murtha portray ... Wuterich as a cold-blooded killer, untrained and falling victim to stress, as well as being involved in a cover-up of the tragic events of November 19, 2005,” the Marine’s lawyers say in the court filing.

“Mr. Murtha has intentionally disseminated with malice his hearsay version of the events of November 19, 2005 with knowledge of the false and libelous nature of the statements contained therein and/or with gross negligence or reckless disregard for the truth,” the suit states.


A spokeswoman for Murtha declined to comment, but said the congressman would release a statement later Wednesday.

Wuterich is suing for damages of at least $75,000, a public apology and an injunction prohibiting publication of allegations against the Marine.

U.S. Marines, including Wuterich, have been accused of killing unarmed Iraqis in Haditha last year. An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service into the role of the Marines in the killings could lead to murder charges.

The Haditha case is just one of many in which U.S. servicemen are suspected of killing Iraqi civilians.

Murtha, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, has commented extensively about Haditha. In May, he told ABC News there was ”no question” the U.S. military tried to cover up the Haditha killings, and that he would not “excuse murder.”

In the court filing, which Wuterich’s attorneys said would be filed Wednesday, many of Murtha’s comments in the press are recounted. According to the filing, for example, Murtha said on NBC, “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

Wuterich is represented by Washington-based lawyers Mark Zaid and Neal Puckett.

[darius]

what do you find more atrocious . . . murtha calling out what happened or what actually happened?

he accused them of murder and now the investigation is showing that, yes, they in fact murdered these civilians in cold blood . . . am i missing something?

[ghb]

Murtha should've waited until all the evidence was available before jumping the gun & making detrimental statements . This case is not over yet either.

[darius]

Murtha should've waited until all the evidence was available before jumping the gun & making detrimental statements . This case is not over yet either.

thanks for dancing around my question . . . ur as predictable as beck

[ghb]

What actually happened has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt, until that happens I find Murtha's comments & accusations without any proof to be more atrocious.

[darius]

What actually happened has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt, until that happens I find Murtha's comments & accusations without any proof to be more atrocious.

talk to OJ about reasonable doubt

[ghb]

talk to OJ about reasonable doubt

Obviously that was a complete mess of a trial, but overall I am waiting for the final verdict. For arguements sake if these Marines are found to be completely innocent, would you then admit that Murtha had no business saying what he did without knowing the facts?

[darius]

Obviously that was a complete mess of a trial, but overall I am waiting for the final verdict. For arguements sake if these Marines are found to be completely innocent, would you then admit that Murtha had no business saying what he did without knowing the facts?

fer shizzle

[ShaE]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...d/4098237.html

Interesting developments...guy looks fkin section 8.

[Leon]

Obviously that was a complete mess of a trial, but overall I am waiting for the final verdict. For arguements sake if these Marines are found to be completely innocent, would you then admit that Murtha had no business saying what he did without knowing the facts?

Murtha had no business saying that prior to the verdict anyway, regardless whether he was guilty or not. He got sued and Murtha will be found at fault. That's how the law of libel and slander work.

A shame too, because this fuckhole who did that to the girl deserves nothing more than to experience what that girl did, to feel everything that girl felt physically and mentally, over and over and over again until he lost his PoS mind.

[ShaE]

I posted that just to show that those who jump on the bandwagon, assuming all military personnel are WRONGLY accused, need to think again.

This guy, and those who helped him, rape this girl and kill her family are proof that military personnel are HUMAN- they can be fucked up and commit atrocious crimes. They are not INFALLIBLE just b/c they have on uniforms. Just want people to think twice before giving carte blanche to military servicepeople.

Just not wise. It's also disturbing that in order to meet recruiting quotas the army & the marines have lowered their acceptance standards...it's very irresponsible to give training, arms, and authority to UNSTABLE PEOPLE who really ( in any other time ) would've had NO BUSINESS being in the military.

[Leon]

I posted that just to show that those who jump on the bandwagon, assuming all military personnel are WRONGLY accused, need to think again.

With over a million personnel through out the world, there will be plenty of bad apples.

This guy, and those who helped him, rape this girl and kill her family are proof that military personnel are HUMAN- they can be fucked up and commit atrocious crimes. They are not INFALLIBLE just b/c they have on uniforms. Just want people to think twice before giving carte blanche to military servicepeople.

Agreed. No one deserves a free card (or white card) anywhere.

Just not wise. It's also disturbing that in order to meet recruiting quotas the army & the marines have lowered their acceptance standards...it's very irresponsible to give training, arms, and authority to UNSTABLE PEOPLE who really ( in any other time ) would've had NO BUSINESS being in the military.

This is an excellent point. Talking to a few friends over at Iraq they are pissed that they had to go through all kinds of screening, all kinds of questions, we then get something like this.

The soldiers and their leaders want to be with people who want to be there, who deserve to be there. Because, as any of you who served, and deployed would know, your weakest link is the guy (gal) on the left of you and on the right of you. The word Brother and Sister takes on a whole new meaning.

[ShaE]

With over a million personnel through out the world, there will be plenty of bad apples.

Right, it's just a matter of numbers, amongst all those people there are going to be some criminals.

This is an excellent point. Talking to a few friends over at Iraq they are pissed that they had to go through all kinds of screening, all kinds of questions, we then get something like this.

The soldiers and their leaders want to be with people who want to be there, who deserve to be there. Because, as any of you who served, and deployed would know, your weakest link is the guy (gal) on the left of you and on the right of you. The word Brother and Sister takes on a whole new meaning.

Of course I've never served, but some very close friends of mine who have, and are currently serving, aren't happy about this either. I don't care HOW MUCH college tuition you offer, people are not lining up to join the military right now in numbers that come anywhere NEAR meeting recruiting quotas. Quality is suffering for quantity, and that's not what made our forces the best in the world in the first place.

[Defekted]

I posted that just to show that those who jump on the bandwagon, assuming all military personnel are WRONGLY accused, need to think again.

This guy, and those who helped him, rape this girl and kill her family are proof that military personnel are HUMAN- they can be fucked up and commit atrocious crimes. They are not INFALLIBLE just b/c they have on uniforms. Just want people to think twice before giving carte blanche to military servicepeople.

Just not wise. It's also disturbing that in order to meet recruiting quotas the army & the marines have lowered their acceptance standards...it's very irresponsible to give training, arms, and authority to UNSTABLE PEOPLE who really ( in any other time ) would've had NO BUSINESS being in the military.

Supposedly with the one guys confession, after they burned the body of the rape victim they went back to camp to grill chicken wings..... lovely...

[Leon]

Quality is suffering for quantity, and that's not what made our forces the best in the world in the first place.

No doubt. I must raise the Okinawa case in the same light. It was the main reason why Japan wanted the US forces out.

[ShaE]

Supposedly with the one guys confession, after they burned the body of the rape victim they went back to camp to grill chicken wings..... lovely...

Seriously, I can understand how some perfectly sane, good, people LOSE it after long stints in combat and do immoral, even terrible things out of anger or revenge ( seeing a buddy killed/ hurt, stress, etc.). But premeditatedly stalking, attacking, raping, burning multiple victims...INNOCENT victims... and then attempting to cover up said crime??? How does the army miss someone being THAT FUCKED UP ??

They don't, they just let it slide...and that is extremely worrisome.