The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
The controversial prosecution of a Navy SEAL for allegedly assaulting an Iraqi terrorism suspect got more complicated Wednesday when three potential witnesses stopped cooperating and informed the court they have their own lawyer.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, assigned to SEAL Team 10 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, is charged with assault after being accused of punching Ahmed Hashim Abed in the stomach shortly after his capture by U.S. forces in Fallujah in September. Abed is believed to be connected to the slayings of four Blackwater contractors in 2004.
McCabe's court-martial on three misdemeanor charges was scheduled to begin next week, but a military judge granted prosecutors' request for a delay Wednesday. The judge, Navy Capt. Moira Modzelewski, set McCabe's trial to begin in Norfolk on May 3.
Neal Puckett, McCabe's civilian defense lawyer, had opposed delaying the trial but reluctantly agreed to it after three other SEALs expected to testify notified the court they've retained their own lawyer.
Modzelewski said the three are asking for immunity. That's a decision that must be made by the convening authority - in this case, Army Maj. Gen. C.T. Cleveland, head of Special Operations Command Central.
Cleveland has come under fire for ordering the courts-martial of McCabe and two other SEALs charged with related offenses.
Petty Officer 1st Class
Julio Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe, also members of SEAL Team 10, are accused of not safeguarding Abed and lying to investigators. Cleveland offered to handle the matter through non-judicial punishment, which could have effectively ended their careers, but the men chose to go to courts-martial.
On Monday, Cmdr. Tierney Carlos ruled that the trials of Huertas and Keefe should take place in April in Baghdad so Abed can testify.
Puckett has not asked for Abed to be made available to testify, which is part of the reason Modzelewski said she decided to keep McCabe's court-martial in Norfolk.
Monica Lombardi, Huertas' attorney, said all three cases are affected by the witnesses' decision to stop cooperating.
Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com
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What a mess
How sad it is these trials are becoming a legal quagmire. Witnesses did not want to cooperate - is this a surprise ?
US Navy Seals
Forgive me if I sound a little dense....but I thought we were in a two-front war against the terrorists. And you charge a United States Navy SEAL, in combat, for punching an enemy, a killer and a terrorist in the stomach? Oh, God....This sounds too much like the Keystone cops or Candid Camera. What absolute jerks our leaders are, especially the congress people!
United States Navy (Retired)
Seals
What is our military coming to that a SEAL member can be put on trial for 'punching' a probable terrorist? No wonder other countries laugh at us. These guys put their lives on the line every day for us and deserve our support. So what if he punched him. The 'superior officer' who made the decision to bring these charges is a disgrace to his uniform. God bless our SEAL teams and all uniformed services!
Seal
LET HIM GO! Look who testified against hiom...I can't believe our government believes a terrorist who testified for leniency. Especially against a military man. Did they expect the terrorist to say he was a saint? gimme a break!
CF
The longer these trial drag out the more of a Charlie Foxtrot it becomes.