ANN ARBOR, MI – This morning, a small courtroom (Daniel Corwin Memorial Courtroom, Bldg. 22163) on the Marine’s vast Camp Pendleton, California, complex will be the scene of intense national and international press interest as a crucial hearing begins in the court martial of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.
Military prosecutors will call one of the Marine’s most respected combat generals, General James N. Mattis, to testify against LtCol Chessani as they attempt to rebut a previous ruling made by the Military Judge that there is evidence of Chessani’s prosecution being tainted by unlawful command influence.
Chessani, who devoted his life to the Marine Corps, including 3 tours of duty in Iraq, and is considered one of the Marine’s top combat battalion commanders, is a scapegoat to appease the press and politicians here in the United States and in Iraq, according to the Thomas More Law Center, the national public interest law firm defending LtCol Chessani.
Richard Thompson, the Law Center’s President and Chief Counsel, commented, “The evidence we have gathered clearly shows this case was a political witch-hunt from the beginning. If the military justice doesn’t take the appropriate action, this case will go down in our history books as one of the greatest miscarriages of justices to an American combat officer. It has already done incalculable damage to the ability of American combat troops in Iraq to defend themselves when they are ordered to engage insurgents in house- to- house battles.”
The Military Judge’s previous finding of unlawful command influence shifted the burden to the prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) the facts upon which the unlawful command influence is based are untrue; or (2) those facts do not constitute unlawful command influence; or (3) the unlawful command influence will not affect the proceedings.
The judge’s decision was based upon the evidence that the Generals who controlled the disposition of LtCol Chessani’s case, including Gen Mattis, were impermissibly influenced by Marine lawyer Col John Ewers, one of the investigators of the Haditha incident from the beginning. He was permitted to attend at least 25 closed-session meetings in which LtCol Chessani’s case was discussed. Prosecutors may call Col Ewers as a witness for a second time to undo some of the damage his previous testimony caused to the prosecution’s case.
Thomas More Law Center lawyers, along with two detailed Marine lawyers, LtCol Jon Shelburne and Captain Jeffrey King, are defending LtCol Chessani, the highest ranking military officer charged in the November 19, 2005, Haditha incident. Law Center attorney Robert Muise will cross-examine Gen Mattis after he has testified on behalf of the prosecutors.
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
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