Mattis denies improper advice on Hadithah

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Mattis denies improper advice on Hadithah
By Elliot Spagat - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 22, 2010 20:35:38 EDT

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A four-star general said Monday that a military lawyer who investigated the killings of 24 Iraqis in the village of Hadithah never advised him on the case after becoming a top aide.

Gen. James Mattis testified for nearly two hours as the first witness at a hearing alleging undue command influence in the government’s case against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the only remaining defendant in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war.

The defense argues that Mattis was influenced by Col. John Ewers, who investigated the killings and became a top advisor to Mattis shortly after the general brought charges in December 2006. Military policy prohibits Ewers from offering legal advice on Hadithah because he was also an investigator in the case.

Mattis acknowledged that Ewers sat in on meetings in 2007 to consider alleged wartime abuses by U.S. troops but said the aide recused himself from discussions on the Hadithah case.

Ewers “never offered and I never asked” for advice on the case, Mattis said.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/03/ap_haditha_wuterich_mattis_032210/