DOJ claims Blackwater will be difficult if not impossible to prosecute

:argh:


Blackwater Case Faces Obstacles, Justice Dept. Says

By JAMES RISEN and DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: January 16, 2008


WASHINGTON — Justice Department officials have told Congress that they face serious legal difficulties in pursuing criminal prosecutions of Blackwater security guards involved in a September shooting that left at least 17 Iraqis dead.

In a private briefing in mid-December, officials from the Justice and State Departments met with aides to the House Judiciary Committee and other Congressional staff members and warned them that there were major legal obstacles that might prevent any prosecution. Justice officials were careful not to say whether any decision had been made in the matter, according to two of the Congressional staff members who received the briefing.

The staff members, who asked not to be identified, disclosed details of the meeting in interviews this week.

The December briefing took place after a federal grand jury had been convened in the case, suggesting that prosecutors had decided to begin hearing testimony with potential prosecution problems still unresolved.

Justice Department officials said Tuesday that the briefing had principally been held to answer questions concerning those problems, one of which arose when State Department investigators granted Blackwater employees a limited form of immunity for what they disclosed. There are also questions about whether federal law applies to the Blackwater contractors.

Justice officials have acknowledged the potential problems, but they have said they were not insurmountable and reiterated that point on Tuesday.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/washington/16blackwater.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

If Blackwater has won a contract paid for by U.S. tax dollars, don't we have a right to say how the employees perform? Don't we have a right to how Blackwater governs themselvesor say how they govern themselves? Immunity? If some have recieved immunity, at least some insight may be provided to force change in how Blackwater conducts themselves, laws and rules need to be put in place to avoid the criminal activity that is happening. Once laws and rules are put into place, they should now be held accountable for all illegal activities. Who is the watchgroup the article is referring too?