Jack Murtha sued by Marine

[Seeking Serenity]

Marine sues Rep. Murtha
Says congressman slandered him

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Washington County Marine who was cleared in the 2005 Haditha incident in Iraq sued his congressman yesterday, saying U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, slandered him and interfered with his right to a fair trial.

Justin Sharratt, 24, of Canonsburg, was one of eight Marines charged two years ago with the killing of Iraqi civilians during a firefight. Seven of the Marines were later cleared -- a prosecutor strongly argued that Mr. Sharratt was, in fact, innocent -- while the government is seeking to reinstate charges against the eighth.

Events in Haditha remain the subject of debate. Several civilians said they saw Marines kill bystanders, while investigators later discounted those claims, in some instances citing forensic evidence.

Mr. Sharratt himself said he killed three people, all of whom were later identified as armed insurgents.

As details of the events unfolded, Mr. Murtha, whose 12th Congressional District includes Canonsburg, repeatedly spoke of the episode as "cold-blooded" killing and compared it to the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

(snip)

Mr. Murtha's office yesterday did not respond to a request for comment.

I don't expect this to go very far. Mighty hard to sue a congressman and win. What do you think?

[angstlessk]

1. I don't know how he can say 'interfered with his right to a fair trial'..when

he was found NOT GUILTY???? I don't know how that charge would hold water???

[Seeking Serenity]

2. It sounded like he was going for a defamation suit.

I guess he thinks Murtha essentially called him a murderer prior to any conviction of the crime.

I still think it's a thin beef and likely will get thrown out before trial.