Judge dismisses all charges in Blackwater shooting

[951-Riverside]

WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed all charges Thursday against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians on a crowded Baghdad street in 2007.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said Justice Department prosecutors improperly built their case on sworn statements that had been given under a promise of immunity. Urbina said the government's explanations were "contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility."

The decision throws out a case steeped in international politics. The September 2007 shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. 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.

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

Blackwater contractors had been hired to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The shooting led to the unraveling of the N North Carolina-based company, which has since changed its management and changed its name to Xe Services.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6794001.html

[FreakinDJ]

1. This is unbelievable

[joanski0]

2. They don't hate us for our freedom.

This is what they hate us for. This makes me absolutely sick. Blackwater goes over there and kills anybody they want to, and they get off scott free. Well, speaking of freedom ..........

[tishaLA]

3. They promised immunity and then decided to prosecute?

Am I reading that correctly? Is this another way the bushies decided to try to undermine the judicial system?

[FreakinDJ]

4. Funny thing - Immunity Claus never made main stream media

geez who would da thunk it - By executive order you can grant immunity from crimes not yet committed to include MURDER

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

6. So federal prosecutors have the authority to pass executive orders?

[FLDCVADem]

7. What are you talking about?

The immunity was granted after the killings, not before.

The government screwed up in using the statements in building their case.

[FreakinDJ]

10. Nope - search DU archives - Bush's Executive order 17xx

before they ever went into Iraq. It granted all contractors complete immunity from Iraqi and American law

[FLDCVADem]

13. Please read the article in the OP

It specifically talks about what immunity was violated, and it was the immunity promised during the investigation, which was after the shootings.

[FreakinDJ]

20. Yep - thats right State Dept. & FBI gave them immunity

what a mess

[johnaries]

12. EDIT: I was wrong. I didn't read the rest of the article.

"Investigators promised the men that their statements were to be used only for the internal inquiry and would not be introduced 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 deal meant that prosecutors had to build their case without using those statements. Urbina said the Justice Department failed to do so. Prosecutors read those statements, reviewed them in the investigation and used them to get search warrants, Urbina said."

Yes, apparently the prosecutors broke their promise.

[tishaLA]

18. After fully reading the article, it seems to say that the State Dept

promised immunity to the five who were responsible and had to build their case around evidence outside the statements the State Dept ordered the mercenaries to provide--statements that admitted their culpability. But prosecutors used those statements to gather more evidence, etc. Fruit from a poisonous tree and all that. So....the bushies succeeded again in undermining the judicial system.

[clear eye]

19. Maybe the Bush DOJ intentionally went overboard w/ grants of immunity

so the case would be impossible to make.

[clear eye]

17. No, immunity is given to lesser participants to prosecute the main actors.

This f'g judge thought the stories the immunized witnesses told were contradictory and not credible. Sounds like the DOJ didn't have its A-team on this.

[FLDCVADem]

23. Please read the article in OP

"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"

It wasn't the immunized witnesses that the judge considered contradictory and not credible - it was the prosecutors.

[shadowknows69]

5. There shouldn't be "immunity" for murderers.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. Upon going into Iraq, Bush gave blanket immunity through an EO to all contractors.

[FLDCVADem]

9. That may well be, but that isn't the immunity that was violated in this case n/t

[FLDCVADem]

11. Please cite

As all I find relating to contractors in Iraq and any EO is the one having to do with oil production, not potential criminal activity.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

14. Executive Order 13303 Link below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13303

[FLDCVADem]

15. Yeah, I saw that one

And it relates to contractors in oil related activities.

Nice try though.

[nashville_brook]

16. this gets the Holiday News Dump Audacity award.

[Bluebear]

21. 17 murders unpunished.

[Nikki Stone1]

22. Xe/Blackwater: We need to start referring to it by both names

http://www.ustraining.com/new/index.asp

[Kablooie]

24. Boy. This is going to create a lot more terrorists against the U.S. I'll bet.

And I don't blame them a bit.

[Hannah Bell]

25. whores.