MURTHA’S MISTAKE

August 5, 2006 in Crime and Justice, Democrats & The Left, Haditha, House of Representatives, Iraq, Murtha, US Military

The following is an excerpt of Robert Novak’s column at Townhall.comdiscussing Murtha’s latest mistake. In regards to Haditha, Murtha simply can not avoid making mistakes. On May 17th Murtha bluntly stated that US Marines had killed innocent civilians in cold blood despite the fact that the investigation is still ongoing for the Incident.

Rep. John Murtha, responding Wednesday to a defamation lawsuit filed by a Marine accused of killing Iraqi civilians in 2005, mistakenly said Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich had been “charged in the incident at Haditha.” In fact, no charges have been filed against anybody.

Murtha quickly issued a new press release Wednesday deleting “charged” and describing Wuterich as leader of “the squad accused of killing two dozen civilians.” The lawsuit accused Murtha of spreading “false and malicious lies” about the sergeant in his May 19 statement which said Marines “killed a number of civilians without anybody firing at them.”

Consider this from the Washington Post:

Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is being sued by one of the accused Marines for libel. He had told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Gen. Michael Hagee had given him the information on which he based his charge that Marines killed innocent civilians.

But a spokesman for the Marine Corps said Hagee briefed Murtha on May 24 about Haditha. Murtha had made comments on the case as early as May 17.

Sounds like Murtha is having a hard time of keeping his story straight. Many may call this Murtha’s Mistake… It Isn’t… it is just the latest example of His real mistake… Congressman Murtha seems to have forgotten the cornerstone of American Justice…

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!!!

It doesn’t matter if the accused are 4 Duke La-cross Players, Michael Jackson, or a U.S. Marine serving his country in a War Zone. The Presumption of innocence is absolutely necessary for justice to be served. John Murtha through his statements and subsequent news stories undermined that presumption, the Military Justice System, and the Marine Corps itself.  That he would do this is testimony enough that he is no longer deserving of the support of his constituents. That he would do this for his own political gain is reprehensible

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