Murtha to be sued.

VS.

C.I.R. Press Editorial [UPDATED]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – I will start out by saying I have no idea how this will play out, as I am sure liberals will argue that Rove is behind this. I on the other hand tend to believe the Marine, that he just wishes to clear his name and fellow Marines that were prematurely convicted by Murtha.

The only thing Murtha’s comments seemed to have done has hurt morale. And what good does that do? The key points:

1) “A Marine Corps staff sergeant who led the squad accused of killing two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will file a lawsuit today in federal court in Washington claiming that Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) defamed him when the congressman made public comments about the incident earlier this year.”

2) "This case is not about money; it's about clearing Frank Wuterich's name, and part of that is to identify where these leaks are coming from," Zaid said in an interview. "Congressman Murtha has created this atmosphere that has already concluded guilt. He's created this environment that really smells, and he's the only one who has done that."

3) “The move by Wuterich is rare, as statements made by members of Congress generally are protected under the "speech or debate" clause in Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution. But legal experts said the clause grants immunity only for what lawmakers say in legislative proceedings and does not apply to news releases, speeches and other public comments.”

I think this will be interesting, and is long overdue. In recent times we have had odd lawsuits. Finally one all liberals and conservatives should be behind. A Marine accused of the unthinkable with little or no proof wants his good name cleared. In addition you have the remarks coming from a former Marine, even more of a stab in the back. So it is Marine vs. Marine turned politician. I wouldn’t dare try to guess what the outcome will be, but I think you all can guess what I am spending my wishes and prayers on.

If the Marines are convicted of crimes, they deserve the worst possible punishment. However, that does not change the fact that Murtha decided to be the judge and convict them prior to the investigation.

-md

Others blogging: ChickenHawk Express: 1 2, Murtha Must Go, Red Hot Cuppa Politics, The_City_Troll, Right from the Right, (Developing...)

[UPDATE:]

(Source) Asked about this in the interview, Murtha said the information came from Gen. Michael Hagee, the commandant of the Marine Corps, in a one-on-one conversation the day before Hagee made a trip to Iraq. Hagee did not use the term "in cold blood," he added.

Col. Dave Lapan, a Marine spokesman, disputed Murtha's account.

He said the commandant did brief Murtha about the Haditha incident. But he said that was on May 24, a week after Murtha made his public comment. The next day, May 25, Hagee left for Iraq, he said.