Judge Cites Gov't Missteps, Tosses Blackwater Case

Friday, 01 Jan 2010 06:41 AM

A federal judge cited repeated government missteps in dismissing all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in a case that inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed the case against the guards accused of the shooting in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007.

The shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead. The Iraqi government wanted the guards to face trial in Iraq and officials there said they would closely watch how the U.S. judicial system handled the case.

Urbina said the prosecutors ignored the advice of senior Justice Department officials and built their case on sworn statements that had been given under a promise of immunity. Urbina said that violated the guards' constitutional rights. He dismissed the government's explanations as "contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility."

"We're obviously disappointed by the decision," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said. "We're still in the process of reviewing the opinion and considering our options."

Prosecutors can appeal the ruling.

Blackwater contractors had been hired to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The guards said insurgents ambushed them in a traffic circle. Prosecutors said the men unleashed an unprovoked attack on civilians using machine guns and grenades.

The shooting led to the unraveling of the North Carolina-based company, which since has replaced its management and changed its name to Xe Services.

The five guards are Donald Ball, a former Marine from West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard, a former Marine from Knoxville, Tenn.; Evan Liberty, a former Marine from Rochester, N.H.; Nick Slatten, a former Army sergeant from Sparta, Tenn., and Paul Slough, an Army veteran from Keller, Texas.

Defense attorneys said the guards were thrilled by the ruling after more than two years of scrutiny.

"It's tremendously gratifying to see the court allow us to celebrate the new year the way it has," said attorney Bill Coffield, who represents Liberty. "It really invigorates your belief in our court system."

"It's indescribable," said Ball's attorney, Steven McCool. "It feels like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders. Here's a guy that's a decorated war hero who we maintain should never have been charged in the first place."

The five guards had been charged with manslaughter and weapons violations. The charges carried mandatory 30-year prison terms.

Urbina's ruling does not resolve whether the shooting was proper. Rather, the 90-page opinion underscores some of the conflicting evidence in the case. Some Blackwater guards told prosecutors they were concerned about the shooting and offered to cooperate. Others said the convoy had been attacked. By the time the FBI began investigating, Nisoor Square had been picked clean of bullets that might have proven whether there had been a firefight or a massacre.

The Iraqi government has refused to grant Blackwater a license to continue operating in the country, prompting the State Department to refuse to renew its contracts with the company.

In a statement released by its president, Joseph Yorio, the company said it was happy to have the shooting behind it.

"Like the people they were protecting, our Xe professionals were working for a free, safe and democratic Iraq for the Iraqi people," Yorio said. "With this decision, we feel we can move forward and continue to assist the United States in its mission to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan find a peaceful, democratic future."

The case against the five men fell apart because, after the shooting, the State Department ordered the guards to explain what happened. In exchange for those statements, the State Department promised the statements would not be used in a criminal case. Such limited immunity deals are common in police departments so officers involved in shootings cannot hold up internal investigations by refusing to cooperate.

The five guards told investigators they fired their weapons, an admission that was crucial because forensic evidence could not determine who had fired.

Because of the immunity deal, prosecutors had to build their case without those statements, a high legal hurdle that Urbina said the Justice Department failed to clear. Prosecutors read those statements, reviewed them in the investigation and used them to question witnesses and get search warrants, Urbina said. Key witnesses also reviewed the statements and the grand jury heard evidence that had been tainted by those statements, the judge said.

The Justice Department set up a process to avoid those problems, but Urbina said lead prosecutor Ken Kohl and others "purposefully flouted the advice" of senior Justice Department officials telling them not to use the statements.

It was unclear what the ruling means for a sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, who turned on his former colleagues and pleaded guilty to killing one Iraqi and wounding another. Had he gone to trial, the case against him would likely have fallen apart, but it's unclear whether Urbina will let him out of his plea deal.

On the Net:

Read the judge's opinion: http://bit.ly/7q0G2r

http://bit.ly/7q0G2r

Note that it didn't resolve if the shooting was proper, just that the government screwed up and apparently gave them immunity but then using those statements against the men.

What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

I was just thinking how well the trials in NY may go.

(01-01-2010 08:43 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

"Our guys" are mercenaries hired by a Christian guy who is on a crusade to kill Muslims(of course, most of you praise him for his crusade).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...740735.ece

(01-01-2010 09:58 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 08:43 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

"Our guys" are mercenaries hired by a Christian guy who is on a crusade to kill Muslims(of course, most of you praise him for his crusade).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...740735.ece

That article is insane. How does a handful of guys go about wiping out 1.6 billion muzzies?

Gee, there's no bias here.

Quote:The affidavits are part of a motion lodged by lawyers representing 60 Iraqi civilians who are suing Blackwater for alleged crimes

This part is laughable. They've seen too many movies.

Quote:The John Doe 2 affidavit alleged that Mr Prince intentionally deployed like-minded men to Iraq “who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades”. It stated that Blackwater employees consistently used racist and derogatory terms.

(01-01-2010 10:11 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 09:58 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 08:43 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

"Our guys" are mercenaries hired by a Christian guy who is on a crusade to kill Muslims(of course, most of you praise him for his crusade).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...740735.ece

That article is insane. How does a handful of guys go about wiping out 1.6 billion muzzies?

Gee, there's no bias here.

Quote:The affidavits are part of a motion lodged by lawyers representing 60 Iraqi civilians who are suing Blackwater for alleged crimes

This part is laughable. They've seen too many movies.

Quote:The John Doe 2 affidavit alleged that Mr Prince intentionally deployed like-minded men to Iraq “who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades”. It stated that Blackwater employees consistently used racist and derogatory terms.

It is from the rightwing English newspaper. You guys post crap from it on here often. I think it is funny that the article is "biased" and "laughable" because I linked to it but when the righties on this board post an article from it it is never biased. Strange how that works.

(01-01-2010 10:48 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 10:11 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 09:58 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 08:43 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

"Our guys" are mercenaries hired by a Christian guy who is on a crusade to kill Muslims(of course, most of you praise him for his crusade).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...740735.ece

That article is insane. How does a handful of guys go about wiping out 1.6 billion muzzies?

Gee, there's no bias here.

Quote:The affidavits are part of a motion lodged by lawyers representing 60 Iraqi civilians who are suing Blackwater for alleged crimes

This part is laughable. They've seen too many movies.

Quote:The John Doe 2 affidavit alleged that Mr Prince intentionally deployed like-minded men to Iraq “who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades”. It stated that Blackwater employees consistently used racist and derogatory terms.

It is from the rightwing English newspaper. You guys post crap from it on here often. I think it is funny that the article is "biased" and "laughable" because I linked to it but when the righties on this board post an article from it it is never biased. Strange how that works.

I should have stated it more clearly - the people who are making the allegations obviously have a bias and those allegations seem to have a Dan Brown twist. The newspaper just seems to be reporting what the loons are alleging. How in the world does a toothless Iraqi in the middle of Dirt Bag, Iran know who the Knights of Templar are? Most people in this country don't.

(01-01-2010 10:58 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 10:48 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 10:11 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 09:58 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 08:43 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

"Our guys" are mercenaries hired by a Christian guy who is on a crusade to kill Muslims(of course, most of you praise him for his crusade).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...740735.ece

That article is insane. How does a handful of guys go about wiping out 1.6 billion muzzies?

Gee, there's no bias here.

Quote:The affidavits are part of a motion lodged by lawyers representing 60 Iraqi civilians who are suing Blackwater for alleged crimes

This part is laughable. They've seen too many movies.

Quote:The John Doe 2 affidavit alleged that Mr Prince intentionally deployed like-minded men to Iraq “who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades”. It stated that Blackwater employees consistently used racist and derogatory terms.

It is from the rightwing English newspaper. You guys post crap from it on here often. I think it is funny that the article is "biased" and "laughable" because I linked to it but when the righties on this board post an article from it it is never biased. Strange how that works.

I should have stated it more clearly - the people who are making the allegations obviously have a bias and those allegations seem to have a Dan Brown twist. The newspaper just seems to be reporting what the loons are alleging. How in the world does a toothless Iraqi in the middle of Dirt Bag, Iran know who the Knights of Templar are? Most people in this country don't.

Um. Try reading comprehension. It doesn't say anything about Iraqi's knows anything about the Knights of Templar. It came from a former Marine(JD1) and a guy that worked for Blackwater for 4 years(JD2)-which could be an Iraqi-though I doubt it-but it doesn't really say anything else about him. The article said the lawsuit for the Iraqi's that were killed were going to include these in their lawsuit not that an Iraqi was making these accusations. I guess the lack of reading comprehension should be expected from you based on your posts on this board.

Iraqis Outraged As Blackwater Case Thrown out

Friday, 01 Jan 2010 02:23 PM

Iraqis seeking justice for 17 people shot dead at a Baghdad intersection responded with bitterness and outrage Friday at a U.S. judge's decision to throw out a case against a Blackwater security team accused in the killings.

The Iraqi government vowed to pursue the case, which became a source of contention between the U.S. and the Iraqi government. Many Iraqis also held up the judge's decision as proof of what they'd long believed: U.S. security contractors were above the law.

"There is no justice," said Bura Sadoun Ismael, who was wounded by two bullets and shrapnel during the shooting. "I expected the American court would side with the Blackwater security guards who committed a massacre in Nisoor Square."

What happened on Nisoor Square on Sept. 16, 2007, raised Iraqi concerns about their sovereignty because Iraqi officials were powerless to do anything to the Blackwater employees who had immunity from local prosecution. The shootings also highlighted the degree to which the U.S. relied on private contractors during the Iraq conflict.

Blackwater had been hired by the State Department to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The guards said they were ambushed at a busy intersection in western Baghdad, but U.S. prosecutors and many Iraqis said the Blackwater guards let loose an unprovoked attack on civilians using machine guns and grenades.

"Investigations conducted by specialized Iraqi authorities confirmed unequivocally that the guards of Blackwater committed the crime of murder and broke the rules by using arms without the existence of any threat obliging them to use force," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement Friday.

He did not elaborate on what steps the government planned to take to pursue the case.

The shootings led the Iraqi government to strip the North Carolina-based company of its license to work in the country, and Blackwater replaced its management and changed its name to Xe Services.

Five guards from the company were charged in the case with manslaughter and weapons violations. The charges carried mandatory 30-year prison terms, but a federal judge Friday dismissed all the charges.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina cited repeated government missteps in the investigation, saying that prosecutors built their case on sworn statements that the guards had given with the idea that they would be immune from prosecution.

That explanation held little sway with Iraqis outraged over the case.

Dr. Haitham Ahmed's wife and son were both killed in their car during the shooting.

"The rights of our victims and the rights of the innocent people should not be wasted," he said.

Iraqis have followed the case closely and said the judge's decision demonstrated that the Americans were considered above the law.

"I was not astonished by the verdict because the trial was unreal. They are using double standards and talking about human rights, but they are the first to violate these rights. They are killing innocents deliberately," said Ahmed Jassim, a civil engineer in the southern city of Najaf.

Dozens of Iraqis have filed a separate lawsuit alleging that Blackwater employees engaged in indiscriminate killings and beatings. That civil case was not affected by Urbina's decision and is still before a Virginia court.

Mohammed al-Kinani, whose son was killed, said he had been invited once to the U.S. by the Justice Department as a witness but said he went two more times after that to follow the case.

"I will not despair," he said.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the commanding general in Iraq, said he understood that people would be upset with the decision.

"Of course people are not going to like it, because they believe that these individuals conducted some violence and should be punished for it, but the bottom line is, using the rule of law, the evidence is not there," he said. "I worry about it because clearly there were innocent people killed in this attack."

Of all the private security companies that mushroomed in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion, Blackwater was the most well-known and vilified.

Their employees were at the center of what is considered one of the key moments of the war. A vehicle with four Blackwater employees driving through the western city of Fallujah, a center of the Sunni insurgency, was hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in March 2004. Their charred, mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets and hung from a bridge over the Euphrates river.

The bloody incident was one of the key reasons the U.S. military attacked Fallujah in April 2004.

Anyone looking for justice for these Blackwater people?Allahu Akbar

Another Blackwater guard, Andrew Moonen, was accused by the family of a guard for an Iraqi vice president of shooting and killing the guard without provocation on Christmas Eve of 2006 after Moonen got drunk at a party in the Green Zone and then got lost. Moonen's lawyer has described the incident as self-defense.

An October 2007 report by a House of Representatives committee called Blackwater an out-of-control outfit indifferent to Iraqi civilian casualties. Blackwater chairman Erik Prince told the committee that the company acted appropriately at all times.

Were the incident to happen again today, the legal outcome might be much different. The U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect Jan. 1, 2009, lifted the immunity that foreign contractors had in Iraq. A British security contractor accused of shooting two colleagues is currently being held in Iraq and could be the first Westerner to face an Iraqi court since the immunity was lifted.

——

Associated Press Writers Katharine Houreld, Saad Abdul-Kadir and Bushra Juhi contributed to this report.


Copyright 2009 The Associated Press

Roberta, you are such a hypocrite, you got no problem with Muslims organizing for Jihad that kill innocent people; But when Blackwater people organize to counter, it becomes a problem for you. It says in your linked TOL article that JD2 was operating by what others told him. Thats hearsay information.

JD2 Wrote:John Doe 2 claimed in his affidavit that — based on information he said was provided to him by former colleagues

Times Online Article

So the judge did not think that JD2's "Onward Christian Solider" allegation had any credence. Even though it never got that far.

The fact that the physical evidence was not found at a "battlefield crime scene", does not prove a conspiracy or Black Op either. Its a war zone for God's sake.

Judge's Dismissal Order Wrote:Before the beginning of jury deliberations, a judge instructs the jury that it must perform its duty to deliberate “without prejudice, fear, sympathy or favoritism.” A judge has a concomitant obligation. When a judge, upon close examination of the procedures that bring a criminal matter before the court, concludes that the process aimed at bringing the accused to trial has compromised the constitutional rights of the accused, it behooves the court to grant relief in the fashion prescribed by law. Such is the case here.

For the reasons discussed in this Memorandum Opinion, the court grants the defendants’ motion to dismiss the indictment.67 An Order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion is separately and contemporaneously issued this 31st day of December, 2009.

Dismissal Order 90 page PDF

We are all a little sick and tired of you riling against sources you deem unfit. It makes you look the bitter little man you are

(01-01-2010 10:48 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 10:11 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 09:58 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(01-01-2010 08:43 PM)smn1256 Wrote:  What's insane about all this is the number of prosecutions we're seeing coming out of a war zone. How does anyone expect our guys to focus on keeping themselves and their comrades alive without having to look over their shoulders to see if a prosecutor is eyeballing them for misconduct?

"Our guys" are mercenaries hired by a Christian guy who is on a crusade to kill Muslims(of course, most of you praise him for his crusade).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...740735.ece

That article is insane. How does a handful of guys go about wiping out 1.6 billion muzzies?

Gee, there's no bias here.

Quote:The affidavits are part of a motion lodged by lawyers representing 60 Iraqi civilians who are suing Blackwater for alleged crimes

This part is laughable. They've seen too many movies.

Quote:The John Doe 2 affidavit alleged that Mr Prince intentionally deployed like-minded men to Iraq “who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades”. It stated that Blackwater employees consistently used racist and derogatory terms.

It is from the rightwing English newspaper. You guys post crap from it on here often. I think it is funny that the article is "biased" and "laughable" because I linked to it but when the righties on this board post an article from it it is never biased. Strange how that works.

For the record, I do find those allegations pretty disturbing, but I find the notion of a right-wing British newspaper is kind of absurd.