A closer look at those Halliburton/KBR gang-rape allegations
Halliburton Derangement Syndrome struck the media again this week. ABC News ran big with a story about a “Houston, Texas woman who says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.” The allegations are awful. She may be telling the truth. But beware of the sensationalism and hype.
Ted Frank at Overlawyered has a non-hysterical look at the charges–and how they evolved into an HDS-friendly, made-for-media case:
In February 2006, Jamie Leigh Jones filed an arbitration complaint, complaining that, for her administrative assistant job with KBR in Iraq, she was placed in an all-male dorm for living arrangements, and a co-worker sexually assaulted her. (KBR says the co-worker claimed the sex was consensual, though Jones claims physical injuries, such as burst breast implants and torn pectoral muscles, that are plainly not consistent with consensual sex. The EEOC’s Letter of Determination credited the allegation of sexual assault.)
Fifteen months later, after extensive discovery in the arbitration, Jones, who lives in Houston, and whose lawyer is based in Houston, and who worked for KBR in Houston, sued KBR and a bunch of other entities (including Halliburton, for whom she never worked, and the United States), in federal court in Beaumont, Texas. The claims were suddenly of much more outrageous conduct: the original allegation of a single he-said/she-said sexual assault was now an allegation of gang rape by several unknown John Doe rapists who worked as firemen (though she did make a claim of multiple rape to the EEOC, though it is unclear when that claim was made); she claims that after she reported the rape, “Halliburton locked her in a container” (the EEOC found that KBR provided immediate medical treatment and safety and shipped her home immediately) and she threw in an allegation that a “sexual favor” she provided a supervisor in Houston was the result of improper “influence.” (But she no longer makes the implausible claim that she was living in an all-male dorm in Iraq.)
The US got the claim dismissed quickly (Jones hasn’t yet followed the appropriate administrative claims procedure); the case was transferred back to Houston where it belonged (the trial lawyer’s ludicrous brief in opposition didn’t help). But the fact that the defendants are pointing out that the lawsuit over a pending arbitration violates 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and are asking for the court to mandate only one single proceeding in arbitration rather than a multiplicity of parallel proceedings, is now being treated as a cause célèbre by the left-wing blogosphere in its campaign against the contractual freedom to arbitrate. (Note that two elements explicitly designed to arouse the ire and inflame the passions of the left—Halliburton and gang-rape—only came about after Jones switched attorneys.)
Frank warns further:
People with legitimate claims usually don’t have lawyers trying so desperately to forum-shop that they file amateurish briefs like this, and Jones loses a ton of credibility with me over that. At a minimum, Jones’s story has changed over time, and has gotten considerably more lurid. The original allegations are bad enough, and, if true, actionable. If the implant rupture and other physical injuries are true, I’m inclined to believe that she was raped, perhaps even gang raped. (Machismo environments like fraternity houses and athletes’ dorms are responsible for a disproportionate number of gang rapes, which is why the Duke Lacrosse allegations had so much weight in the early going.) I’m inclined to believe that there was a hostile work environment, and that it was possible that KBR was not doing enough to correct that problem. I’m not currently inclined to believe that the criminal action was the employer’s fault, unless the employee in question had shown signs of criminal behavior while working for KBR. And it is entirely consistent with what I know about government if Jones’s allegation that the government botched the criminal investigation is true.
Of course, more facts could come to light that change my mind in either direction. There’s already been a lot of discovery, but Jones’s papers in court seem to focus on me-too evidence (that should eventually be held to be inadmissible) rather than evidence related to Jones. I’d love to see the pending motions for summary judgment in the arbitration that led Jones to file a second lawsuit.
And one hopes Jones realizes that she’s being used by attorneys who are pursuing their own agenda to promote the litigation lobby’s pet anti-consumer/pro-lawyer legislation. The shenanigans of bringing a second lawsuit and suing the irrelevant Halliburton are not helping her case if she has a legitimate one.
***
Bob Owens has also examined the docs and posts his analysis and chronology. He also criticizes the sensationalism surrounding the case, but adds:
Though there are some inconsistencies with certain aspects of the case and the way it has been reported, absolutely nothing seems to contradict the key claim that she was savagely, brutally raped. Nothing contradicts the fact that she has not be able to find justice for 2 years.
I think she’s a brave young woman, and hope that she can find both emotional and physical healing.
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Trackbacks
- The Jawa Report
- Gang Rape on Halliburton/KBR premises? - Page 2 - World Affairs Board
- Overlawyered
- Ace of Spades HQ
- Flopping Aces
- A More Professional Take on the Halliburton/KBR Rape Case « Mr. Skulduggery
- Jon Swift
- “Halliburton”, gang rape, and fear of arbitration: the Jamie Leigh Jones case
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The Lame Stream Media loves nothing more than to drop one of their patented “Terms of Indictment” on the public. None, of course, elicits more loathing and negativity than “HALLIBURTON”, Darth Cheney’s pet company. Notwithstanding the behavior of some of it’s employees, who may be total scum, dragging the company through the mud is just standard operating procedure when your LAME!
OMG - “Darth Cheney”!!!!!
AWESOME!!!
This case has moved from being about justice to skewering Halliburton and the war in Iraq.
This seems like one of those events that is going to go on for quite some time, where the MSM only gives you athe sliver of the story that fits their narrative of Bush/Cheney/Halliburton/Iraq are responsible for all the evils that befall mankind. The libs will use this woman and then toss her to the curb when they’re done with her.
What I have always wondered when I hear of things like, two siblings conspiring to kill their parents is - how does one have this conversation? How does the one kid say to the other kid - let’s kill mom and dad?
In this case, how does the lawyer say to an alleged rape victim hey - I know you were raped but if we make this thing bigger than just your rape, and go after the companies themselves -you’ll never have to work again in your life. How have we gotten here as a people?
Perhaps, I’m being too philosophical… If the allegations are true, what happened to her is horrible.
In the end though, the only entity that will be found at fault is the judicial system or big business.
Never the individual.
I hope this is just another “la crosse moment”. I would hate to think that a young woman actually went through something like that.
Besides we all know it happended because she was overheard saying good things about Hitlery Clinton so President Bush had Darth Cheney ‘fix her good’ so she’d never do that again. And, of course, Darth’s agents all work for Haliburton. CASE SOLVED! /sarc off
…and anyone who questions the motives of the lawyer or the victim, as MM has done, despite how relevant these questions are to the whole case, will get lambasted as hate-mongers and pro-rape conservatives, by all the kooks on the left.
I first saw this on Fox news this morning and was a little skeptical about this story myself. I have seen too many rape charges in my Military experince dismissed because when the facts came out it was found to be consensual sex or the victim lied to get back at a male. I have also seen a couple of real cases where the rapist and in one case a group using a date rape drug had the book thrown at them. I’m a zero tolerance guy for this crime myself. Time will tell what really happened hard to believe a company would be responsible for the criminal behavior of its employees (unless of course it tried to cover it up).
Political intrigue aside, I’m wondering exactly how much force is needed to “rupture” those supposedly safe and durable breast implants. I’ve seen video demonstrations before, where the surgeon has actually thrown an implant at a wall to demonstrate their durability.
It seems to me that if this assault actually occurred, one of the things that I would want to bring to light is the amount, and type of force needed to burst the implanted prothetics. I doesn’t seem logical to me that manipulation, squeezing, or fondling could produce that amount of force, unless it was done as a form of torture. Am I wrong here?
Chuck, not really that funny. I also have my “grain of salt” since the accusations are so terrible that I don’t think I’m willing to accept something like this happening.
The thing is, everything she is alleging can easily be proven. Torn pectoral muscles speak for themselves. And calling her father who in turn called her Rep (Ted Poe) is pretty strong evidence. If a Representative testifies that he had to pull strings to get this woman out of KBR custody, that’s pretty damning.
The real problem is this: The Justice Department has brought no criminal charges against the alleged assailants. Neither the U.S. or Iraqi legal systems can be applied to contractors in Iraq, and thus her assailants have likely broken no laws.
WTF. That policy needs to stop. Now. How many horror stories do we need to hear about contractors (ie Blackwater) before we make them responsible for their actions? Obviously most contractors are fine, decent people. But this has to end.
NOT!
This is hearsay…Not evidence, unless you’re a bleeding heart liberal who doesn’t need “actual” proof to form a position. Typical!
Re-enforced my point about actual evidence!
Rusty, you make the fat man proud!!!
True to Form
One point that has to really be looked at here is that part of the story line is she was locked into a shipping container for 24 hours with no food or water.
That I do not buy and other bloggers pointed it out.
She would have been cooked alive. It was in the middle of summer in Iraq with temps in the 130’s and unless that container had great A/C should would never have survived that long.
Just as a guess when you think of a steel container freight thing like you see on trains or ships the temps inside would probably have been over 160 or more.
Nope just not buying that at all.
Halliburton spun off KBR a number of years ago. The container sounds like it was office container. The type put on construction sites. The drug thing sounds a bit too suspicious. So I am skeptical of the gang rape. But I do not doubt something happened.
I see my post#3 has already come true (you just have to add Blackwater to the group, which I forgot to do).
I do know one company that makes conversions of those shipping containers into office space instead of using single wide house trailers.
Will have to try to see if they have any of their stuff in Iraq.
Another reason to be suspicious. From her journal:
August 18-2007- I optioned my story to be written for a screenplay. The screenplay is currently in development and is being written by Tom Whitus.
This lady want justice or publicity? And she has a marketing director!
H/T FloppingAces
This sounds like a great story-line for the next Hollywood anti-American movie…can you think of any great titles?
Canned Heat. Baked in Baquba. The Iron Maiden. Man-handled. The President, the Corporation, the Coverup…The Jaime Jones Story. Justice Unserved.
You clearly don’t know what hearsay is. If Poe had to call the State Department to get Jones out of KBR cluthces, then he can testify to what he was told and what he did to secure her release. Granted, the evidence is circumstantial, but it’s still completely admissable.
And since me mentioning Blackwater is so taboo, do you think contractors in Iraq should not be held responsible for alleged crimes committed against American and Iraqi citizens? Do you really believe that? That we can have a set of people, not American soldiers, who are almost totally above the law. That’s ok with you?
If this happened:
You can have Poe and the agents testify. So, if this is some hoax, it’s one that easily disproven.
And it would take a lot of guts to involve a Representative and the State Department and think you could get away with something like that.
Of course, even if her accusations were 100% true, many people would escape punishment because of the ridiculous US policy to not prosecute contractors.
Task Force
Now you’re a judge? I think not! As far as Blackwater goes, no one ever said mentioning it was taboo. You’re guilty of doing the same thing liberals always do…and that is trying to win a discussion by using emotion, not logic.
Demonizing is just part of the liberal playbook…one can’t fault you for just following it. No rationalization needed, only a willingness to demogogue. Way to go!
For anyone to actually think that because I question your interpretation of this event, that I am for lawlessness, well, that speaks volumes about you. Just because I haven’t jumped on the “lynch ‘em” bandwagon, as you apparently have, doesn’t mean I don’t want justice served.
You continue to make my point, Rusty. Allegations are NOT PROOF of wrong-doing. Neither of us were there, so I think I’ll wait until I hear the whole case, read the EVIDENCE, before I render a conclusion, how about you?
Yes, dragging Halliburton into it is a cheap, irrelevant ploy designed specifically to garner headlines. So we have a lawyer acting like pond scum… no surprise there.
But…
If this woman was raped we should howling for blood, not picking nits over what kind of trailer she was held in. This doesn’t sound like the Duke case, where someone is making implausable charges backed by zero evidence. There’s every indication that something terrible was done to this woman, and our focus belongs on finding and punishing the animals responsible.
Also, as tempting as it is to simply discount anything Rusty says, there’s nothing wrong with thinking contractors should be subject to US law. Personal responsibility is a cornerstone of conservative thought, and the idea that someone could evade that responsibility by simply taking a job at the right company should outrage us. There has to be a way to protect the interests of people who do vital work for us without writing their bad apples a blank check to rape and pillage.
You’re totally right. My point is that, if the narrative being discussed is correct, then the kidnapping allegations shouldn’t be that hard to prove. Or hard to disprove if Rep. Poe denies involvement or if the State Department agents say she wasn’t rescued.
Just trolling here, but recently I saw on TV (which would never lie, ha) where impants were subject to some pretty severe punishment and withstood pretty well. Things like fastballs from a pitching machine and hits from a bat. They were resistant to crushing, but not puncture.
Now these were new implants and may have been more durable than previous models or ones that were in vivo for a long time. But assuming hers were of a similar mettle, if an injury was severe enough to cause damage to her implant, it seems likely that it would not have come from (run-of-the-mill? normal? no adjective fits here, pr0n-level?) groping and evidence of harm would have been apparent externally.
And that may be the case, since there is reported muscle damage.
As a juror, I would want to know what the endurance of her implants were (especially the undamaged one) and what surface injuries she may have had as well.
James Felix
Agreed. Personal responsibility for one’s actions is paramount. It “sounds” like something terrible happened to Ms. Jones. Was there any mention, aside from the burst bolt-ons, what other associated injuries to her body were noted?
Bruises, scrapes, missing blocks of hair, internal injuries? For something this horrendous to have happened, there MUST be tons of provable evidence.
If this event did occur, those personally responsible should be held accountable, but absent more telling information about the alleged assault, I am remaining skeptical.
Rusty…Mr. Poe, nor the Agents were there! The fact that they affirm that they received a phone call, or responded to “save” her, does not confirm an allegation, other than it was reported, and they responded. NOT EVIDENCE of a crime, only evidence that someone notified their office, and some actions were taken.
If you recall, John Murtha ALLEDGED that Marines committed murder, without evidence. Are we to assume from your stand on this issue, that, at the time, you believed Murtha, before any of the facts were known? By you logic, why would a member of congress make this allegation if it wasn’t true? FACT: His allegations were NOT true! Some of those Marines are now suing him for what he ALLEDGED.
I’ve also heard talk of a positive rape kit, though its chain of custody is somewhat murky at this point.
One really sick aspect of this, in my eyes, is that the media seems to think that the real story here is the culprits working for a company somehow related to Haliburton. It’s painfully clear that this woman being raped is completely secondary, what really matters is being able to engage in some Bush bashing.
There are shipping containers (connexes) all over Iraq. Some have been made into airconditioned offices, but most just serve as storage. They are nightmarishly hot in the summer. Last May, I had to go into one daily to work on a project, and I could only last 20-30 minutes at a time.
Explain to me what this has to do with Blackwater? My point stands in that you have a narrative, Iraq war=bad, Bush/Cheney and everything to do with them=bad, and you use any story, no matter how irrelevant or how suspect the evidence, as proof that you’r view is right.
It doesn’t matter that as we speak the legal process is playing out. You’ve used a moment in time to prove the veracity of your narritve, even though this issue is nowhere near being resolved.
I can’t believe I’m being forced to defend Rusty.
Right_On, the phone call is evidence. On its own it’s not enough to convict, but it’s still evidence. The same way that recordings of 911 calls are evidence.
The big difference here is that Murtha didn’t “allege” anything, he stated it as a matter of settled fact. Worse, he did so while an investigation and trial were in progress.
For example, if I said last year that “if the current charges are true, the Duke lacross team raped a stripper” I would have said nothing wrong. If however I simply said “the Duke lacrosse team raped a stripper” I would arguably be saying something slanderous.
It has been pointed out here that the actual rape seems to be of secondary concern to the leftist attack pups. This should surprise no one, as they are the same bunch that seem to look aside any time a liberal is implicated in any kind of sexual misconduct. Apparently, this conduct is okay if the perp is of the correct political stripe, or if an entity of the wrong kind can be damaged in some way.
One thing really bugs me. How does one tear pectoral muscles? I have never heard such a thing before, but I assume it can be done under great exertion, such as lifting weights.
The victim was supposedly drugged and passed out during the attack. How does she get torn pects?
ABC News is reporting:
Afterwards Hillary issued the following clarification, “I meant Jamie Leigh Jones, not Paula Jones.”
and for that matter, how would you know whether it was a gang rape or not?
Why is everyone saying that there is no U.S. criminal jurisdiction for this offense (assuming that it occurred)? For offenses committed by or against a U.S. national on embassy grounds, federal criminal jurisdiction exists. 18 USC 7(9). Aggravated Sexual Abuse, 18 USC 2241(b), using a date rape drug and then having sex with that person, is a crime. The US Department of Justice has federal (non-military) prosecutors in Baghdad.
Why is this being handled as a EEOC matter? Not that this will prevent a possible criminal prosecution, mind you, but this is the aspect of the claim that bothers me the most.
I agree that there are some apparent inconsistencies in the story, but I am not prepared to dis-believe it - just yet.
Is where she was allegedly raped considered embasy grounds?
Taylork,
Good question. I know that there are connex living spaces within the U.S. Embassy compound, which is huge. I admit that I have assumed that the offense took place there, but I could be mistaken.
James Felix said:
911 calls from the “victim” (the act is happening, or has just happened) are used in evidence. However, I may be wrong, but how can a “third party” call, not to a law enforcement facility, but to a politician’s office, be evidence.
The call, as far as I can tell, was made way after the alledged assault, not by the allegded victim, nor someone in close proximity. That is why I believe, it is heresay…”She told me this happened…by these people…” The reports that the story has changed, from her mouth, would seem to me, make any recording by others on her behalf, an impeachment of her truthfulness.
Would it make a difference if it had been Al Sharpton, or Jesse Jackson making the call? How could that be evidence of a crime? (Tawana Brawley?)
The rape is reported to have occurred in the Green Zone, which is not co-extensive with U.S. Embassy grounds. KBR maintained a place in the Green Zone called Camp Hope. The question then becomes (1) whether KBR was there in support of the U.S. diplomatic mission, and (2) if so, does that make Camp Hope land “appurtenant or ancillary thereto or used for the purposes of those missions or entities, irrespective of ownership….”
Good question Taylork!
I’ve read part of the complaint, and it seems believable. That said, there are always two sides, but her story doesn’t sound fishy.
Aside - ladies, no job is so good you have to submit to pressure from a supervisor for sex.
Has anyone out there know the biggest member of Halliburton’s board is Sen.Diane Funkstien’s hubby?No wonder she got herself chairman of the Military Construction Committee.There were some big bucks to make,on the backs of U.S.Taxpayers.And they cleaned up!
Why do I think of the liberal TV gal that was mugged in NY recently?
The next story was that she fell walking her dog.
Then we settled for being drunk and falling on her face.
Anything like that here?
If the allegations are true, I’m good with the men responsible being castrated with a rusty hacksaw blade.
I am currently of the opinion that something happened untowards, probably illegal to the woman, however, there are some questions that pop to mind in the stories, but I am unable to determine if they are a product of the agenda MSM reporting or are actual inconsistencies.
As a preliminary position I would hazard that whatever happened has been exaggerated however, such exaggeration does not preclude that the actual event was heinous. I’m good with watching the story progress and seeing what the legal system finds and, if it gets that far, what a judge or jury decides.
what the heck happened to this…????!!! suddenly its off the radar scope. If there’s really something here, why isn’t it headline news?????