Legal News

Former Marine Sues Politician Over Remarks About Haditha

By Dan Slater

There was no firefight. There was no [improvised explosive device] that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood. — Congressman John Murtha (Dem-Pa.), referring to a 2005 skirmish between U.S. marines and a group of Iraqi insurgents at Haditha

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., introduces Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., not pictured, at the Building and Construction Trades Department union meeting in Washington, April 16, 2008. (AP/Charles Dharapak)

In May, 2006, about six months after the above-referenced battle, John Murtha, a Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania and decorated veteran who’d surprised many by calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, also began calling for an investigation into what he believed was a military cover-up over Haditha.

Some accused Murtha of politicizing the event. Now, a marine is accusing him of slander. Justin Sharratt, who was a 21 year-old marine when he fought at Haditha, claims in a lawsuit, filed yesterday in federal court, that Murtha defamed him with his comments. In addition to constitutional violations, Sharratt claims slander per se, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Here’s the complaint, and here’s a story on the suit from the Tribune-Democrat.

While Noah Geary, Sharratt’s lawyer, acknowledges that Murtha never mentioned his client by name, he said media reports did identify Sharratt and that the effects have been long-lasting. “People see that on TV,” Geary said. “It becomes truth – it becomes a fact.”

Murtha, through a spokesman, declined to comment to the Tribune-Democrat.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 26, 2008 (boomark / email).