Murtha Must Testify in Defamation Case
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a defamation case against Rep. John P. Murtha and ordered the Pennsylvania Democrat to give a sworn deposition about his comments alleging “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” by unnamed soldiers in connection with Iraqi civilian deaths.
A Marine Corps sergeant is suing the 18-term congressman for making the charge, which the soldier claims is false. Murtha, who opposes the Iraq war, made the comment during a May, 2006 Capitol Hill news conference in which he predicted that a Pentagon war crimes investigation will show Marines killed dozens of innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.
Murtha’s office declined to comment on the ruling.
Gary Gross, on Let Freedom Ring Blog, has done an incredible job following the developments in the Haditha case. He takes a look at Murtha’s forced testimony and how it relates, or not, to the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause.
For more on the treatment of the Haditha Marines, click here and here.