Marines won't seek new charges in Iraq killings

[thedrifter]

Marines won't seek new charges in Iraq killings

Fri Aug 28, 7:49 pm ET

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The Marines won't reinstate charges against the highest-ranking officer accused of a crime in Iraq.

Spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Galbraith said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani learned Friday that he will instead face a hearing to determine if he should be forced to retire and demoted.

Chessani was charged with failing to investigate the 2005 killings of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq. The 43-year-old from Rangely, Colo., has already applied for retirement.

A Camp Pendleton judge dismissed charges last year, saying a general overseeing the case had improper contact with an investigator, but an appeals court said charges could be reinstated.

Charges also have been dismissed against five other Marines. Another was acquitted and one has a pending court-martial.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani will go before Board of Inquiry
MILITARY: No criminal charges in Haditha deaths for Marine officer

TERI FIGUEROA and MARK WALKER - tfigueroa@nctimes.com; mlwalker@nctimes.com | Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 8:35 pm

The Marine Corps has dropped its pursuit of criminal charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking officer accused of misconduct after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005.

Instead, Lt. Gen. George J. Flynn has decided to handle the matter administratively by appointing a three-member Board of Inquiry that will meet at Camp Pendleton this fall.

The board of Marine Corps officers will determine if Chessani should be reduced in rank if it finds he engaged in substandard performance of duty, misconduct and professional dereliction of duty.

Its finding will serve as a recommendation to the Secretary of the Navy, who will make the final decision.

At stake is Chessani's rank after he retires from the Marine Corps, a retirement that has been on hold pending a decision in the Haditha matter. Chessani's retirement pay will not be affected by any decision to reduce his rank, Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Galbraith said Friday.

Chessani attorney Brian Rooney said his client, who remains on duty at Camp Pendleton as a base security officer, is happy the two charges of dereliction have been dropped.

"Colonel Chessani is relieved that the case is out of the criminal realm where it never belonged because he never did anything wrong," Rooney said. "In order to reduce him in rank, the board has to find there was misconduct and we don't believe it will."

Rooney said Chessani's other attorneys plan to call several witnesses they believe will show he reported the Haditha killings up the chain of command and was never directed by his superiors to order a full-scale probe into the events of that day.

"We expect to present a very robust case to the board," Rooney said.

Former Marine Corps judge and attorney Gary Solis said convening a Board of Inquiry to decide Chessani's fate is a rare step.

"This is beyond unusual," said Solis, who teaches military law at Washington's Georgetown University. "I have never heard of a senior officer being subjected to a Board of Inquiry. My guess is that at worst he will be found to have exercised substandard judgment and be admonished."

Chessani commanded Camp Pendleton's 3rd Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at Haditha when the civilians were slain after a roadside bombing that killed one Marine and injured two others on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.

Several women and children were among the slain when troops led by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich stormed several homes where they believed the people responsible for the bombing were hiding.

Military investigators later said none of the slain could be tied to the insurgency, prompting an international outcry that led to criminal charges against eight Marines ---- four triggermen and four officers accused of failing to investigate.

Last year, a military judge ordered the charges against Chessani dismissed, citing the appearance of unlawful command influence. A military appeals court later upheld the dismissal.

Solis said recommendations reached by a Board of Inquiry are generally followed by the Navy Secretary, a civilian appointee.

"I would be very surprised if Colonel Chessani is reduced in rank," Solis said. "This is a man who for 18 years has given great and good service to the Marine Corps and risked his life. I don't think his reward for all that will be anything too severe and he may even escape an admonishment."

As for the remainder of the men charged with criminal wrongdoing in Haditha, most of the cases were dropped before trial. The only defendant to see his case go to trial was found not guilty of lying to investigators and trying to destroy evidence.

With Friday's announcement regarding Chessani, the only remaining defendant is Wuterich, who led his squad on a deadly chase through several homes near the bomb site.

Wuterich's trial on multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter and related charges remains on hold while a military appeals court considers whether CBS News should be forced to turn over outtakes of a "60 Minutes" interview with Wuterich.

Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 760-740-5442. Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.

Ellie

[fontman]

Closing Arguments This Morning In LtCol Chessani Board of Inquiry
Posted by SOF Editor on December 11th, 2009

This morning, at approximately 9:00am Pacific Standard Time, Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise will make closing arguments to the Board of Inquiry on behalf of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani. This is the final opportunity for Muise, a former Marine Infantry officer himself, to thwart the efforts of the government to destroy the 22-year career of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq.

It is expected the Board will render its decision today, as well.

One of the challenges Muise faces is to overcome the failed defense attempt to disqualify the Board President, Brigadier General Lewis Craparotta. During pre-Hearing questioning, BGen Craparotta indicated that “investigating every (civilian) death is the right approach because that’s the way to protect Marines.” Defense attorney, LtCol Shelburne, challenged the fact he was selected to sit on the Board of Inquiry with that pre-existing opinion of what to do in a similar situation faced by LtCol Chessani.

The prosecution of LtCol Chessani is one of the most controversial and politically tainted prosecutions in recent American military history. According to Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, “This case turned into a government vendetta against a patriotic Marine combat officer who loyally served his country and the Corps for over 22 years.”

After Muise’s closing argument, the Board will retire to determine whether LtCol Chessani was guilty of any misconduct for his alleged failure to properly investigate and report on the November 19, 2005 Haditha incident where several Iraqi civilians died as a result of house clearing actions taken by four ambushed Marines in Chessani’s battalion.

>From the beginning of the case, it has been the Law Center’s position that LtCol Chessani was made a political scapegoat to appease powerful anti-war Congressman, John Murtha, who claimed even before the investigation was completed, that Marines were guilty of “cold-blooded” murder and Marine officers were guilty of a “cover-up”.

Ironically, Chessani’s battlefield conclusions have been borne out by the results of criminal prosecutions pursued by the government. The government conducted a multi-million dollar investigation, considered the largest in the history of the NCIS. It created a special team of government lawyers tasked with the prosecutions, of the eight Marines initially charged in the incident. Yet of the eight marines charged, seven including Chessani, have had their charges dismissed. Only one Marine still faces criminal charges.

LtCol Chessani’s case was originally dismissed by a military judge on the grounds of unlawful command influence. The government appealed that ruling to a 3-judge panel of the Navy-Marine Court of Criminal Appeals sitting in Washington DC. The appeals court sustained the lower court ruling.

Rather than end its persecution of Lt Col Chessani, the Government commanded he face a Board of Inquiry. LtCol Chessani is the only Marine ordered to face a Board of Inquiry over the Haditha incident after the charges have been dismissed.

A Board of Inquiry is an administrative board where the rules of evidence do not apply. Evidence that would likely be thrown out in a criminal proceeding may be considered by the Board. The government’s burden of proof is lessened. Rather than having to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, the government only has to prove “misconduct” by a preponderance of evidence.

If the Board finds “misconduct, ” then they will further determine if LtCol Chessani should be forced to retire or not. If the Board determines LtCol Chessani should retire, then the Board must also determine if he should retire as a Lieutenant Colonel, or as a Major.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been defending LtCol Chessani at no charge. The Law Center’s attorneys, Robert Muise and Brian Rooney, both former Marine officers, have teamed up with the detailed military attorneys LtCol Jon Shelburne, USMC, and Capt Jeffrey King, USMC.

The indisputable evidence shows that LtCol Chessani immediately reported the deaths of the 15 civilian Iraqis to his superiors.

Not one of his superiors hearing of the civilian deaths ─ including top generals ─ considered it unusual. Not one ordered a further investigation. Instead, they commended him for a job well done. In fact, LtCol Chessani’s immediate superior told him that no investigation was needed because it was a bona fide combat action—consistent with orders in effect at the time: no investigation of civilian deaths related to combat action. That order was changed in April, 2006, well after the Haditha incident.

LtCol Chessani’s commanding general, Major General Huck, reported up the chain of command, “I support our account and do not see the necessity for further investigation.” This same commanding General was allowed to retire without going to a Board of Inquiry, and he was allowed to retire as a Major General.

Consequently, not one of LtCol Chessani’s superiors faced nor will they ever face a court-martial or a Board of Inquiry for their actions in relation to November 19, 2005.

UPDATE: Final decision: "Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani had an inherent responsibility to provide a detailed, accurate account and he failed to fulfill that responsibility." No misconduct, recommend retirement at current grade.