Via AP:

The officer who presided over a pretrial hearing for a Marine suspected in the murder of two Iraqis has submitted his recommendation on whether the case should go to court-martial, a military spokesman said Friday.

Maj. Mark E. Winn has sent the paperwork to Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, said 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. Huck will review the recommendation and decide how to continue in the case of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano.

Drudge quoting the Washington Times:

“The government was not able to produce credible evidence or testimony that the killings were premeditated,” Col. Winn wrote in his report, a copy of which was obtained today by The Washington Times.

Will keep you posted.

130pm. Rowan Scarborough’s exclusive Times story is up.
Details:

The 16-page report from Lt. Col. Mark E. Winn castigates as unreliable the prosecution’s chief witness, Sgt. Daniel L. Coburn, whom Lt. Pantano had removed as squad leader weeks before the April 14, 2004 shooting…

… “I think now [Sgt. Coburn] is in a position where he has told his story so many times, in so many versions that he cannot keep his facts straight anymore,” Col. Winn wrote of the chief witness.

…Col. Winn recommended to Maj. Gen. Richard Huck that all criminal charges be dropped, including murder and destruction of the Iraqis’ vehicle. Col. Winn recommended that Lt. Pantano face administration punishment for firing too many rounds at the two men…

Coburn, you’ll recall, was sniffed out by milbloggers when he posted about the case in their comments section–in apparent violation of military orders. See Euphoric Reality here and here.

Update: 230pm. Defend the Defenders, the Pantano family website, will be posting the full Winn report in PDF format.

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Previous:

Lt. Pantano: “He’s a great Marine”
Lt. Pantano’s plight continues
Lt. Pantano update 3/22
Lt. Pantano update 2/25
Ilario Pantano update 2/16
Defend the defenders