Court-martial over CBS interview delayed

Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich arrives for his arraignment at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Jan. 9, 2008. A judge threw out a military prosecutor's subpoena Friday Feb. 22, 2008, for unaired footage of a CBS interview given by the Marine squad leader accused of crimes in an attack that killed 24 Iraqis. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)

SAN DIEGO—A military prosecutor has appealed a judge's decision to throw out a subpoena seeking unaired footage of a CBS News interview given by a Marine squad leader charged in the killings of 24 Iraqis.

The appeal led to the indefinite postponement of Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich's court-martial, which had been scheduled to begin March 10, Wuterich's attorney, Mark Zaid, told The Associated Press on Friday.

Marine prosecutor Capt. Nicholas Gannon has said in court documents that the unaired footage is vital to the case because it contains admissions by Wuterich of crimes in the attack in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.

Wuterich "apparently admits in an unaired segment that he did in fact order his men to 'shoot first and ask questions later,'" Gannon said in a motion filed in early February.

Military judge Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks ruled last week that prosecutors did not need the CBS footage to get the evidence they needed. A date has not been set to hear Gannon's appeal.

Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the Haditha deaths, which happened after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing a Humvee driver and wounding two other Marines.

Wuterich and a squad member are accused of shooting five men at the scene, after which Wuterich allegedly ordered his squad into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians.

In the interview aired March 15, 2007, Wuterich recounted to CBS correspondent Scott Pelley his recollection of the events that led to the deaths.

CBS has called the subpoena "unreasonable and oppressive," and CBS attorneys argued it should be quashed to prevent potential sources from being reluctant to talk to the news media.

The network had no comment on the prosecutor's appeal, said Sandra Genelius, a spokeswoman for CBS News, which is a division of CBS Corp.

A telephone call to a Marine spokesman seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Wuterich's attorney, Neal Puckett, has called prosecutors' effort a "fishing expedition" because they don't know what is in the unaired footage.

"You have to be able to show (the court) what you are after. Since they don't know what is in it, they can't make that showing," he said.

Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder, and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against four of the men have been dropped, and none of the others will face murder charges.

Still facing court-martial are 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, on charges of making false official statements, obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently separate from the Marine Corps; and Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., who is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations that he mishandled the aftermath of the Haditha shootings.