Last week, I noted the possibility of a plea deal in the trial of SSgt Frank Wuterich, the last of the U.S. Marines charged in connection to an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the village of Haditha in 2005.

(See here. All previous Wuterich trial coverage and Haditha links below.)

Today, the plea deal was reached. SSgt Wuterich’s defense team at Puckett Faraj says this afternoon:

Press Release, Aexandria VA January 23, 2012/12:45PM:

“No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all SSgt Frank Wuterich. But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years, he’s had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption. He has always publicly taken responsibility for the lawful actions of his squad that day, as portrayed in his interview with CBS 60 Minutes. Today’s agreement is completely consistent with everything he has always said. Which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable and he takes responsibility for them, but they were not criminal.”

The North County Times reports on the details:

Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich agreed to plead guilty Monday to one count of negligent dereliction of duty, ending his trial on manslaughter and related charges for his role in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005.

“This was his decision and his decision alone,” Neal Puckett, Wuterich’s lead defense attorney, told the North County Times. “Staff Sergeant Wuterich believed this was the right and honorable thing to do.”

Negligent dereliction of duty is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 90 days in custody and a reduction or forfeiture of pay. It was not immediately known when a sentencing decision would be announced.

The deal was announced in court early Monday morning. After the announcement, Wuterich shook hands and hugged his parents, who have been watching the courtroom proceedings since the trial began.

The agreement has been approved by Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser.

The plea deal ends the six-year saga of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged with criminal wrongdoing in the incident that took place in the city of Haditha at the height of the war.

A reminder of how the Left’s smear merchants tried and convicted the Haditha Marines in the court of public opinion — and got away with it:

Outrage came from around the world and from Washington, D.C., where the late Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha said he believed the Marines might have “killed in cold blood” and went on to say U.S. troops were overstressed.

The result was eight Marines being charged with crimes at Haditha, including four officers and four enlisted men.

Seven of those eight saw their cases resolved, some with the withdrawal of charges in exchange for their testimony, one acquitted at trial and others having charges dropped entirely.

Wuterich, a 31-year-old Murrieta single father of three girls, had pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors appeared ready to strike a plea deal last week after a series of their own witnesses gave testimony largely beneficial to Wuterich’s position that he believed he and his men were under attack and responded in keeping with their training.

Puckett said his client continues to believe his actions were lawful, despite the civilians deaths, which Wuterich has repeatedly said he regrets.

“He has always taken responsibility for his and his squad’s actions that day,” Puckett said. “Today’s agreement is completely consistent with everything he has said, which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable, but they were not criminal.”

***

(Graphic via Defend Our Marines)

***

Previous:

1/23/12 The trial of the last Haditha Marine: SSgt Wuterich takes plea deal

1/19/12 The last Haditha Marine: Trial update, prosecution collapse, plea deal in the works?

1/5/12 The last Haditha Marine: Wuterich trial update

1/2/12 Remember SSgt Frank D. Wuterich: The last Haditha Marine goes on trial

5/6/09 Haditha Marine update: Lt. Col. Chessani wins another round

4/23/09 Justice Dept. attorney: Murtha should be immune from Haditha lawsuit

11/19/08 Murtha Watch: Cut-and-run smear merchant wants immunity

8/23/08 When will Biden apologize for Haditha smear?

6/19/08 The fate of Lt. Col. Chessani, continued

6/18/08 Defining atrocity: Marines vs. the Haditha Smear Merchants

6/17/08 Haditha Watch: Charges dismissed against Lt. Col. Chessani

6/16/08 Haditha Watch: The fate of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani

June 5: Haditha Marine Lt. Andrew Grayson acquitted

3/28/08 Case dropped against Haditha defendant Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum

9/18/07 Charges dropped against Capt. Lucas McConnell

8/23/07 Charges recommended dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum

8/9/07 Charges dropped against Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt

4/17/07 Charges dropped against Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz

Let Freedom Ring reviews the Murtha Marine-smearing timeline.

Everything else you need to know is at Defend Our Marines.

I told you on Monday about the opening of SSgt Frank D. Wuterich’s trial this week in connection to an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the village of Haditha in 2005. Seven have been exonerated. Wuterich is the last Haditha Marine standing.

Here’s the very latest on the proceedings.

SSgt Wuterich’s defense team succeeded in getting 4 more charges dismissed in the case.

Jury selection is underway.

Puckett Faraj is providing continuous updates on Twitter here.

SSgt Wuterich’s support site is here. Much more background from Defend Our Marines here.

I’ll continue to post dispatches until there’s a verdict.

Welcome to 2012. The headlines will be awash in presidential politics this week, but I want to make sure you take note of the trial of SSgt Frank D. Wuterich set to open Wednesday. He’s the last of the Marines charged in connection to an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the village of Haditha in 2005. The late corruptocrat John Murtha and the New York Slimes convicted and hanged the Marines in 2006 over the case before a single formal charge had been filed. Murtha slandered the troops before the world, declaring that “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” Then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama unabashedly backed Murtha’s smears. NYTimes reporter Paul von Zielbauer initially filed over 30 stories on the case, which the paper had hyped as the “defining atrocity” of the Iraq war.

And then: One by one over the last six years, the Marines were exonerated.

April 2007: Charges dropped against Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz.

August 2007: Charges recommended dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum.

August 2007: Charges dropped against Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt.

September 2007: Charges dropped against Capt. Lucas McConnell.

March 28, 2008: Case dropped against Haditha defendant Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum.

June 5, 2008: Haditha Marine Lt. Andrew Grayson acquitted.

June 17, 2008: Charges dismissed against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani.

(Graphic via Defend Our Marines)

The Fishwrap of Record fell silent on the issue. So did troop-smearing tool Keith Olbermann, the Nation, and countless other progressive executioners likening Haditha to My Lai. Smear merchant John Murtha went to his grave without apologizing — encased in federal immunity protection.

Now, SSgt Wuterich is the last Haditha Marine standing. His war-crimes court martial begins on Wednesday at Camp Pendleton:

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich goes on trial for nine counts of manslaughter, assault and related offenses tied to his role leading his squad in the killing of two dozen Iraqi civilians in 2005.

Wuterich has pleaded not guilty and is the last of eight defendants charged in the killings that took place in the city of Haditha after a roadside bombing that killed a fellow Marine.

The seven other defendants charged in that —- which resulted in the largest war-crime prosecution arising out of the Iraq war, changed the rules of engagement, and touched off a political firestorm —- have all been exonerated through a variety of legal findings.

SSgt Wuterich has maintained his innocence from day one and has the support of military families nationwide. Defend Our Marines will be posting live blog updates from the trial. So will his law firm, Puckett and Faraj. They report:

SSgt Frank Wuterich, the last Marine originally charged in the deaths of 19 of 24 Iraqis killed in Haditha, Iraq in 2005, will be seated at the defense table in his general court-martial in just eight days. On November 19, 2005, insurgents detonated a 500-pound improvised explosive device under the fourth vehicle in his convoy, instantly killing the driver and seriously wounding the assistant driver and the gunner.

The platoon’s commander arrived soon after and ordered the Marines to clear houses to find the triggerman for the bomb and to neutralize snipers. By mid-afternoon, 24 Iraqis were dead. This was the first coordinated attack of five total launched against the Marine forces that morning in Haditha.

SSgt Wuterich’s case has been long and drawn out, first due to the choice to prosecute a group of Marines involved in a separate incident at Hamdaniya, Iraq occurring in 2006. Secondly, the government has incorrectly interpreted the evidence and assumed that the squad leader, SSgt Wuterich, was responsible for all the deaths. Lastly, Marine prosecutors delayed this trial two years litigating the admissibility of the outtakes of the CBS 60 Minutes interview of SSgt Wuterich. Later there was appellate litigation challenging the Government’s severance of SSgt Wuterich’s attorney/client relationship from his detailed military counsel who was not allowed to stay on active duty long enough to defend him.

This has been a long and hard fought battle for justice and the preservation of SSgt Wuterich’s Constitutional rights. We begin the war crimes general court-martial on January 4th. The government will try to prove that SSgt Wuterich was on a rampage and directed unlawful killings. The defense team will prove that the government overlooked key evidence and the truth of what really happened that day will be revealed.

The Law Firm of Puckett & Faraj is very appreciative of all the support for SSgt Wuterich over the last 5-1/2 years. We want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, outspoken words and belief in Frank Wuterich’s innocence. We will be publishing a status of the trial when we can to keep you posted on our progress. Keep Frank Wuterich and his family in your thoughts throughout January!

***

Hey, you know who else smeared the Haditha Marines and has never apologized to the exonerated troops?

Vice President Joe Biden, who called for then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to step down during the Murtha-driven witch hunt campaign.

Wielding a tar brush to appease the appeasement lobby means never having to say you’re sorry.

Cox & Forkum, as always, put it best:

***

Related Haditha fishwrap news here and here. (h/t Sgt Tim)

It’s not news. It’s re-confirmation. Roll Call has a lengthy story out today on just-released FBI records detailing the extent of the late corruptocrat John Murtha’s dirty dealings — and how he repeatedly got away with it. The FBI and DOJ watched. And watched. And failed to act. Murtha’s entrenched incumbency made him untouchable.

There’s crony capitalism. And there’s crony Murtha-ism. An excerpt:

Last week’s release of FBI documents finally put in writing what nobody had ever said on the record: The FBI suspected that former Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and lobbyists close to him were running a scheme to funnel earmarks to sham companies and nonprofits to benefit the lawmaker’s friends and former staffers.

Bits and pieces of this story were kicked around for years before Murtha died in February 2010. The Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, the Washington Post and others had documented the odd appearance of earmarks for tiny defense contractors that just happened to open an office in western Pennsylvania and just happened to hire one of the lobbying firms close to Murtha and just happened to begin making campaign donations to Murtha and other Members of Congress close to him….

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act request for Justice Department files on Murtha and other Members of Congress. Its requests have been denied for the living Members on the grounds that they have a right to privacy, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said last week. Murtha’s death eliminated the privacy exemption, and the Justice Department handed over a heavily redacted bunch of files to CREW on Oct. 14.

The files spell out for the first time a theory of the case that explains what Murtha’s cronies may have been up to.

In a memo dated June 19, 2009, FBI field agents requested the bureau “open a full public corruption investigation” regarding KSA Consulting, the lobbying firm that employed at various times the Congressman’s longtime defense aide Carmen Scialabba and the Congressman’s brother, Robert Murtha, widely known as Kit.

The FBI field agents concluded that “the relationships between Congressman John Murtha … and employees and partners of KSA Consulting provide for a potential Honest Services Fraud … if Congressman Murtha influenced the awarding of contracts to KSA-controlled entities or clients, in exchange for some personal benefit to the Congressman. KSA principals may also have committed Honest Services Fraud by lobbying Murtha to direct earmarks to KSA clients who ‘passed-thru’ the funds to subcontractor firms that did little actual work and were owned by KSA principles.”

Murtha’s earmark washing machine illustrates perfectly my Culture of Corruption maxim: As government grows, corruption flows. Along with an ocean of boodle.

I hope all those who lobbied to name yet more edifices and vessels after this porker are hanging their heads in shame today.

***

Flashback February 12, 2010:

John Murtha: Requiem for a corruptocrat
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010

We are not supposed to speak ill of the dead. But those whom the deceased viciously smeared and humiliated deserve to be defended. Entrenched Democrat Rep. John Murtha passed away on February 8 after a botched gall bladder surgery. He has been hailed as a “military advocate” (Associated Press) and “one of the greatest patriots ever to serve in Congress” (former Democratic congressman Harold Ford). These obsequious obituaries leave out inconvenient truths:

John “Jack” Murtha was an unrepentant smear merchant and corruptocrat to the bitter end.

In May 2006, during an MSNBC cable TV show appearance that Marines and their families will never forget or forgive, Murtha accused U.S. troops of wantonly killing some two dozen civilians, including children, in the terrorist stronghold of Haditha, Iraq. Bellowed Murtha: “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” Murtha publicly indicted the Marines before military investigations had been completed. His remarks opened the military-bashing floodgates around the world.

In the wake of Murtha’s reckless blabbing, MSNBC executioner Keith Olbermann accused the Haditha Marines of “willful targeted brutality.” The Nation magazine claimed that “members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment perpetrated a massacre.” The New York Times dubbed Haditha the “defining atrocity” of the Iraq war. International papers piled on with Vietnam-era “My Lai” allusions. Murtha cold-bloodedly sat back and enjoyed the ride while the Marines were left twisting in the wind.

By 2008, seven of the Marines charged in the incident had been exonerated or had charged dropped against them. Lt. Andrew Grayson was acquitted. Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, Capt. Lucas McConnell, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharatt, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani all had their cases dismissed. Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the last of the Marines facing charges, awaits a long, dragged-out trial this year.

Murtha, the so-called “military advocate” went to his deathbed refusing to apologize or retract the attacks on the Haditha Marines (several of whom unsuccessfully sued him for libel to restore their honor). Decent people would call this intransigent treachery. Murtha’s friends apparently consider it great patriotism.

The ego-bloated, big-mouthed lawmaker treated his own constituents with trademark contempt. During his last congressional campaign, he mocked voters in his district as bigots. “There’s no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Responding to mounting criticism on both sides of the aisle about his log-rolling orgies on the Hill, he sniffed: “If I’m corrupt, it’s because I take care of my district.”

First, foremost, and forever, Jack Murtha took care of Jack Murtha. The glowing encomiums from his liberal colleagues have glossed over the 19-term Democrat’s defining moment of political self-service. In 1980, Murtha was an unindicted co-conspirator in a massive bribery probe — in which undercover FBI agents videotaped Murtha entertaining a $50,000 bribe from agents posing as emissaries for Arab sheiks trying to enter our country illegally. From transcripts of those conversations published by the late newspaper columnist Jack Anderson, Murtha’s true colors shined:

“I want to deal with you guys awhile before I make any transactions at all, period. . . . After we’ve done some business, well, then I might change my mind. . . . ”

. . .“I’m going to tell you this. If anybody can do it — I’m not B.S.-ing you fellows — I can get it done my way.” he boasted. “There’s no question about it.” . . .

Murtha worried not about his integrity or how his constituents might be harmed, but about getting ratted out:

“All at once,” he said, “some dumb [expletive deleted] would go start talking eight years from now about this whole thing and say [expletive deleted], this happened. Then in order to get immunity so he doesn’t go to jail, he starts talking and fingering people. So the [S.O.B.] falls apart.”…

“You give us the banks where you want the money deposited,” offered one of the bagmen.

“Well, you tell me.”

By the time of his death, Murtha had been caught intervening on behalf of a law-breaking Pennsylvania company convicted of selling military equipment parts illegally overseas; steered unprecedented billions in federal earmarks to friend, family, and donors; earned multiple “most corrupt in Congress” designations from both the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the right-leaning Judicial Watch; and remained intimately tied to PMA Group, a former lobbying firm under federal investigation, and Kuchera Industries, a defense contractor also under federal investigation.

From his character assassination of innocents to his insatiable appetite for pork and power, Jack Murtha embodied everything that is wrong with Washington. If only the culture of corruption he serviced could be buried six feet under with him.

***

A cut-and-run flashback:

This Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee e-mail just landed in my e-mail box. James Carville calls Republicans “reptiles.” (Yes, the same James Carville whom wife Mary Matalin calls “Serpenthead.”) And then he urges his fellow Dems to contribute money to honor…corruptocrat Jack Murtha.

I know.

Nothing more needs to be said:

Reptiles
from James Carville dccc@dccc.org
reply-to dccc@dccc.org
to Michelle writemalkin@gmail.com
date Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 11:25 AM
subject Reptiles
mailed-by bounce.bluestatedigital.com

Contributions or gifts to the by Mark Critz for Congress Committee are not tax deductible.

He’s already got a boondoggle airport in his name. Philadelphia wants to name a shipyard after him. The University of Pittsburgh just named a new “Center for Public Service” in his memory. And now the Navy is moving ahead with plans to name a vessel after him.

We don’t need anything else named after this troop-smearing corruptocrat.

Enough already.

The Washington Times weighs in:

The late Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, has achieved his highest undeserved honor. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has decided to name the Navy’s newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26 the USS John P. Murtha. This is a slap in the face to every service member who bridled when Murtha publicly accused Marines in Iraq of intentionally killing women and children in cold blood.

Murtha made his views known after details emerged about a firefight in Haditha in November 2005 in which 24 Iraqis were killed. Murtha accused the Marines of engaging in premeditated murder and agreed with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that this was “exactly” like the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Charges later were brought against eight Marines but have since been dropped against all but one. However, Murtha’s theatrical rush to judgment still rankles Americans in uniform, whose views on the congressman range from disappointment to the belief that he gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

“This dishonors every Marine who will serve aboard that ship,” a Navy officer told The Washington Times. “And it sends a poor message to the acquisition community that politicians can have ships named after them just for sending pork back to their districts.” Milblogger “CDR Salamander,” who served in the Navy for 21 years, told us this was “a naked political move” and “nothing about this man will be inspiring to the crew assigned to the ship.”

A better idea from Sgt. Tim Sumner: Name the LPN 26 the USS Michael A. Monsoor.

Ha: Commenter RedDog suggests: “USS Abscam.”

That deranged talking head who called me a “big mashed up bag of meat with lipstick” and mocked my ethnic maiden name is suddenly concerned with public decorum.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has the pathetic video of cable clown Keith Olbermann naming me “worst person in the world” on Friday for telling the truth about corruptocrat smear merchant John Murtha and commenting on how stents came to market after President Clinton’s heart surgery (beyond the pale!).

As anyone with working eyes can read, the Murtha column was published on February 12. Murtha died on February 8. According to Olbermann’s MSNBC Math, this is “less than 24 hours.”

Of course, he’s too busy hyperventilating and manufacturing outrage to refute any of the facts in my column about Murtha’s sordid career.

Not a single one.

Only fraudulent made-for-TV “progressives” would come to the defense of pork-addicted wheeler dealer Murtha.

They don’t know Jack — and they don’t believe in jack, either.

Sufficient time has passed since John Murtha’s death to reckon with his true record. No tears for the wreckage, poison, and damage to the public trust he left behind.

Latest news: There is a movement to install Murtha’s wife in the seat. Given the late congressman’s share-the-pork-with-friends-and-family proclivities, this is a very bad idea for those who want integrity in government in Pennsylvania.

****

John Murtha: Requiem for a corruptocrat
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010

We are not supposed to speak ill of the dead. But those whom the deceased viciously smeared and humiliated deserve to be defended. Entrenched Democrat Rep. John Murtha passed away on February 8 after a botched gall bladder surgery. He has been hailed as a “military advocate” (Associated Press) and “one of the greatest patriots ever to serve in Congress” (former Democratic congressman Harold Ford). These obsequious obituaries leave out inconvenient truths:

John “Jack” Murtha was an unrepentant smear merchant and corruptocrat to the bitter end.

In May 2006, during an MSNBC cable TV show appearance that Marines and their families will never forget or forgive, Murtha accused U.S. troops of wantonly killing some two dozen civilians, including children, in the terrorist stronghold of Haditha, Iraq. Bellowed Murtha: “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” Murtha publicly indicted the Marines before military investigations had been completed. His remarks opened the military-bashing floodgates around the world.

In the wake of Murtha’s reckless blabbing, MSNBC executioner Keith Olbermann accused the Haditha Marines of “willful targeted brutality.” The Nation magazine claimed that “members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment perpetrated a massacre.” The New York Times dubbed Haditha the “defining atrocity” of the Iraq war. International papers piled on with Vietnam-era “My Lai” allusions. Murtha cold-bloodedly sat back and enjoyed the ride while the Marines were left twisting in the wind.

By 2008, seven of the Marines charged in the incident had been exonerated or had charged dropped against them. Lt. Andrew Grayson was acquitted. Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, Capt. Lucas McConnell, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharatt, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani all had their cases dismissed. Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the last of the Marines facing charges, awaits a long, dragged-out trial this year.

Murtha, the so-called “military advocate” went to his deathbed refusing to apologize or retract the attacks on the Haditha Marines (several of whom unsuccessfully sued him for libel to restore their honor). Decent people would call this intransigent treachery. Murtha’s friends apparently consider it great patriotism.

The ego-bloated, big-mouthed lawmaker treated his own constituents with trademark contempt. During his last congressional campaign, he mocked voters in his district as bigots. “There’s no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Responding to mounting criticism on both sides of the aisle about his log-rolling orgies on the Hill, he sniffed: “If I’m corrupt, it’s because I take care of my district.”

First, foremost, and forever, Jack Murtha took care of Jack Murtha. The glowing encomiums from his liberal colleagues have glossed over the 19-term Democrat’s defining moment of political self-service. In 1980, Murtha was an unindicted co-conspirator in a massive bribery probe — in which undercover FBI agents videotaped Murtha entertaining a $50,000 bribe from agents posing as emissaries for Arab sheiks trying to enter our country illegally. From transcripts of those conversations published by the late newspaper columnist Jack Anderson, Murtha’s true colors shined:

“I want to deal with you guys awhile before I make any transactions at all, period. . . . After we’ve done some business, well, then I might change my mind. . . . ”

. . .“I’m going to tell you this. If anybody can do it — I’m not B.S.-ing you fellows — I can get it done my way.” he boasted. “There’s no question about it.” . . .

Murtha worried not about his integrity or how his constituents might be harmed, but about getting ratted out:

“All at once,” he said, “some dumb [expletive deleted] would go start talking eight years from now about this whole thing and say [expletive deleted], this happened. Then in order to get immunity so he doesn’t go to jail, he starts talking and fingering people. So the [S.O.B.] falls apart.”…

“You give us the banks where you want the money deposited,” offered one of the bagmen.

“Well, you tell me.”

By the time of his death, Murtha had been caught intervening on behalf of a law-breaking Pennsylvania company convicted of selling military equipment parts illegally overseas; steered unprecedented billions in federal earmarks to friend, family, and donors; earned multiple “most corrupt in Congress” designations from both the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the right-leaning Judicial Watch; and remained intimately tied to PMA Group, a former lobbying firm under federal investigation, and Kuchera Industries, a defense contractor also under federal investigation.

From his character assassination of innocents to his insatiable appetite for pork and power, Jack Murtha embodied everything that is wrong with Washington. If only the culture of corruption he serviced could be buried six feet under with him.

***

A cut-and-run flashback:

I’ll let my archives on his political career speak for itself. For now, condolences to the Murtha family. And I echo this message from GOP challenger Bill Russell:

RUSSELL ASKS FOR PRAYERS FOR MURTHA FAMILY

Announces a Moratorium on Campaign Media Efforts

(JOHNSTOWN, PA) – Responding to the sudden and unfortunate announcement of the death of Rep. John Murtha (D-PA-12th), GOP challenger William Russell has asked all citizens, Republicans, Democrats and Independents to come together and pray for Joyce and the Murtha family as they deal with the tragic loss of husband, father and grandfather. “While Mr. Murtha and I were political combatants in every sense, our family and campaign team asks you to keep the Murtha family in your thoughts and prayers,” said Russell. “Regardless of your political position, you always knew Jack had an immense love and loyalty to his family and the residents of the12th Congressional District.

The Russell campaign is immediately initiating a moratorium on all political media activity for the next five days in respect of the passing of John Murtha. The campaign will also remove all political references to Mr. Murtha on the Russellbrigade.com website immediately.

It is the wish of the William Russell for Congress Committee, that the passing of Mr. Murtha be treated with the utmost respect and decency by all…

Yes, we can show Murtha’s family more decency and respect than he ever showed the Haditha Marines.

1) House Democrats block Republican call for probe of Pelosi

There was political theater, drama, but no surprise ending on Thursday on a topic involving spies, torture and truth in the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives.

Republicans again ripped into Speaker Nancy Pelosi for accusing the CIA of misleading Congress — and her fellow Democrats quickly blocked their bid for a bipartisan probe into her truthfulness. The vote was 252-172.

“The Republicans … have been focused on the politics of personal destruction,” House Democratic leader House Steny Hoyer said afterward.

Hoyer also accused Republicans of trying to divert attention from the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners as well as Democratic efforts this year to revamp healthcare and move the nation toward energy independence.

Democrats rushed to Pelosi’s defense earlier this week, saying they believe her statement that the CIA did not inform her at a September 2002 briefing that it had used waterboarding, simulated drowning widely denounced as torture, during interrogations of suspected enemy combatants.

2) Just now, the House voted down by voice vote a motion by GOP Rep. John Campbell that would have banned any additional funding for the Murtha Airport to No One — on which the federal government has already squandered $150 million.

Watching the recorded vote right now…there are actually five Democrats who have voted yes. Will update with total…5:45pm Eastern…at least 11 Democrats voted for the Murtha airport funding ban…

John Murtha’s big, fat mouth is still wreaking havoc on the lives of the Haditha Marines he defamed. But the Marines keep winning in court. Yesterday’s good news from the Thomas More Law Center, which has vigorously defended the accused Marines:

A government official has informed the Thomas More Law Center that the government will not seek to appeal the recent unanimous decision by the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) in favor of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC.

The decision makes permanent the ruling by the trial court judge, Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissing the charges against LtCol Chessani, without prejudice, due to Unlawful Command Influence. The government could have sought an appeal to the civilian Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF), and then to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gary Gross and Jim Hoft have full coverage — coverage you won’t find in the MSM outlets that trumpeted Murtha’s smears three years ago.

Unfortunately, it’s not over for Chessani just yet:

The Marine Corps may be closer to giving up its troubled prosecution of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005.

Chessani’s attorneys said Tuesday that they’ve been told the service won’t seek a third appeal of a ruling dismissing two counts of dereliction of duty against Chessani, who is accused of not ordering a full-scale investigation into the killings.

A Marine Corps spokesman, however, said a final decision on possible further appeal hasn’t been made. But the attorney for the appeal, Navy Lt. Timothy Delgado in Washington, confirmed a recommendation to drop the matter has been issued.

If that recommendation is followed, a final decision on whether the case gets dropped rests with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway.

And if that happens, Chessani would become the seventh of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged with crimes at Haditha to be fully exonerated.

“Our whole center is just waiting to see what the government now decides to do,” said Chessani attorney Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. “We are very hopeful that the decision is to end the case so Col. Chessani can get on with his life.”

The headquarters of Murtech, in a low-slung, bland building in a Glen Burnie business park, has its blinds drawn tight and few signs of life. On several days of visits, a handful of cars sit in the parking lot, and no trucks arrive at the 10 loading bays at the back of the building.

Yet last year, Murtech received $4 million in Pentagon work, all of it without competition, for a variety of warehousing and engineering services. With its long corridor of sparsely occupied offices and an unmanned reception area, Murtech’s most striking feature is its owner — Robert C. Murtha Jr., 49. He is the nephew of Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has significant sway over the Defense Department’s spending as chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

This nepotism-stained pork brought to you by the most ethical Congress ever.

Sponsored by the letter “C” — for Culture of Corruption.

***

More from Ed Morrissey: This screams for an investigation.

A Justice Department attorney said U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., should be immune from a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Marine from western Pennsylvania.

Essentially, Murtha’s attorney said the lawsuit filed in September by Justin Sharratt, of Canonsburg, should be dismissed for the same reasons that a federal appeals court struck down a similar suit by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., last week.

The court ruled that Murtha couldn’t be sued because he was acting within the scope of his employment when he accused Wuterich’s squad of killing innocent civilians “in cold blood” in Haditha, Iraq in 2005.

Ah to be a member of Congress, where the “scope of your employment” is ruining the scope of somebody else’s employment in a consequence-free environment.

I’d urge all of you to use this product, but you can’t because it’s only available to select members of government:

Your tax dollars at work thanks to King of Pork John Murtha. Pennsylvania, why did you put this hog back in office. Why? (h/t William Amos):

A state-of-the-art radar system that has sat idle for years at a local airport has never been used because there has been no one to operate it, officials said.

The Digital Airport Surveillance Radar, or DASR, was built at the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in 2004 with $8 million from the Department of Defense.

“It’s been out there spinning, ready to go. But, there’s no manpower,” said airport manager Scott Voelker.

Voelker said for a small airport like Johnstown, DASR is a big deal. It would help air traffic controllers track airplanes up to 120 miles away, instead of five or 10 miles. It would give pilots the weather forecast an hour before it happened.

The radar system was built with the help of earmarks form Rep. John Murtha and was paid for by the Department of Defense. When it was built five years ago, DASR was expected to give an economic boost by creating 14 air traffic control jobs and lure more and bigger planes into the region.
But, because it’s also a training ground for the Pennsylvania National Guard, it’s never been manned.

Eric Zimmermann at The Hill reports tonight that the most ethical Congress ever voted again to cover corruptocrat John Murtha’s ample backside:

For the sixth time, the House has rejected a resolution by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to initiate an ethics investigation into the relationship between lawmakers at the PMA Group. This time, however, Flake gained more Democratic supporter than any of the previous votes.

The “privileged resolution”–requiring action within a few days–was tabled by a vote of 210-173, with 25 Democrats voting to keep the resolution alive. Last time, 17 Democrats voted with Flake.

Flake is a long time anti-earmark crusader who has sought to call attention to the ethical shadow surrounding the PMA lobbying firm, which FBI agents raided in February. Paul Magliocchetti, the founder of the firm and a former aide to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), has closed the lobbying shop and moved to Florida.

To paraphrase the King of Pork, they’re not corrupt, they’re just taking care of each other.