Lawyer: Stop statements on MarSOC incident - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Lawyer: Stop statements on MarSOC incident

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Two senior Army officers who have claimed that special operations Marines killed innocent civilians in Afghanistan have been formally asked to “cease their public opinions” by an attorney representing one of the Marines.

An attorney representing the company commander, a major relieved of his duties a month after the March 4 incident, made the request in a letter to the Judge Advocate General of the Army on Thursday.

“I request that these senior Army leaders cease expressing their public opinions concerning the substantiation of any wrongdoing relating to this [incident],” wrote Mark Waple. “This would seem particularly appropriate in view of the fact that the [Naval] Criminal Investigative Service investigation is ongoing and no charges have been preferred.”

The Army JAG office could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

All 120 members of the Marine special operations company were ordered out of Afghanistan following the incident, in which a Marine convoy was ambushed by a car bomb. Lawyers for the Marines have said they responded to small-arms fire after the ambush. As many as 19 civilians were killed.

The incident involved six vehicles and 30 Marines with the company’s direct action/special reconnaissance platoon, according to the Web site for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Last week, Army Col. John Nicholson, commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, called the incident a “terrible, terrible mistake” in an apology to Afghan families.

“We came here to help the Afghan people and the Afghan government, not to hurt you,” Nicholson said, re-reading for Pentagon reporters via satellite May 8 the statement he gave to the families of the alleged victims. “So I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed, and terribly sorry, that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people.”

His comments were made less than a month after Army Maj. Gen. Frank Kearney, the top special operations officer in the Middle East, told The Washington Post on April 14 that a preliminary investigation showed there was no evidence that Marines had taken small-arms fire from Afghans after a car bomb struck their convoy.

In his letter, Waple points out a provision in Article 37 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibiting unlawful command influence.

“In part, that statute provides that ‘no person subject to this chapter may attempt to … influence the action of a court-martial or any other military tribunal or any member thereof, in reaching the findings or sentence in any case, or the action of any convening, approving or reviewing authority with respect to his judicial act,’ ” he wrote.

“Command influence has been described as ‘the mortal enemy of military justice,’ ” he continued.

He cited a 2003 case in which the court noted “senior officials and the attorneys who advise them concerning the content of public statements should consider not only the perceived needs of the moment, but also the potential impact of specific comments on the fairness of any subsequent proceedings in terms of prohibition against unlawful command influence.”

Previous stories:

* Web site to raise support for MarSOC Marines

* Lawyer: Marines took fire in Afghan ambush

* Report: Expect charges in MarSOC case

* Corps: 6 more spec-ops Marines sent home

* Pace: Afghan allegations ‘nick on Marine pride’

* MarSOC mum after general’s comments

* Afghan report: Marine response violated law

* Probe: Spec Ops Marines used excessive force

* Spec Ops commander relieved

* Army general kicks Marines out of Afghanistan

* First Marine Spec Ops unit deploys

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Marines spec ops unit ousted