Mattis called to rebut Hadithah ruling

[unhappycamper]

Mattis called to rebut Hadithah ruling
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday May 31, 2008 7:55:57 EDT

SAN DIEGO — Lawyers for a Marine officer charged with failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqi men, women and children in Hadithah, Iraq, say prosecutors plan to call as a witness a top NATO general.

Their intent, the lawyers say, is to rebut a military judge’s finding that there was evidence of unlawful command influence in the case — the largest criminal case to come out of the Iraq war.

The judge’s finding stems from Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani’s claim that a military lawyer who investigated the November 2005 killings had a conflict of interest when he later advised generals overseeing the Hadithah trials.

Defense attorneys say Marine Gen. James Mattis, who is currently NATO’s top commander in charge of military modernization, is scheduled to take the stand Monday during a motions hearing to address the judge’s finding.

“The prosecution has a high burden to overcome to show that unlawful command influence did not affect the investigation or prosecution of the case,” said Chessani’s civilian attorney, Brian Rooney. He said defense lawyers would ask that the charges against Chessani be dismissed.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_mattishadithah_053008/