dupe sorry

Sunday, June 13, 2004

By Cindi Lash and Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Defense attorneys preparing for Pfc. Lynndie England's upcoming hearing on charges she abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison have compiled a list of 100 potential witnesses stretching from the halls of power in Washington, D.C., to the sand-swept vistas of Iraq.


KCNC-TV via AP
Army Pfc. Lynndie England during an interview with KCNC-TV on May 11.

By putting top government officials like Vice President Dick Cheney on their witness list, England's attorneys are serving notice that in defending their client, they will attempt to put on trial the Bush administration's policies on intelligence gathering from detainees. Like most other military police reservists charged in the abuse scandal, England has claimed military intelligence officers ordered the MPs to "soften up" the detainees prior to interrogations.

However, just because her attorneys want those witnesses doesn't mean that many of them will be on the stand later this month at England's Article 32 hearing in Fort Bragg, N.C. That's because a military investigating officer, the presiding authority at the Article 32 hearing, will decide which witnesses are most relevant.

The goal at this stage of the military justice system is to determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to believe a crime was committed and whether England committed it. If the investigating officer determines there is enough evidence to proceed to a court-martial, he will make that recommendation to a higher-ranking officer, who will make the final determination.

The wished-for witness list, obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, includes, in addition to Cheney, other high-ranking officials such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Stephen Cambone; Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and other high-ranking Army officers; White House General Counsel Alberto Gonzales; and Justice Department officials.
more
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04165/331166.stm

He will be pardoned by Bush as they are leaving.