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As I understand it from a press report, Gen Mattis will be
testifying at your hearing. Here is an excerpt from our brief that you
might find useful during cross examination—for what it is worth: Remarkably,
immediately following the Military Judge’s ruling, Gen Mattis felt
compelled to release a public statement that essentially criticized the
ruling. The North County Times reported as follows: “Mattis
rejected [the Military Judge’s] conclusion, issuing a statement the day
Folsom ruled that he stood by what he said during a court hearing on the issue
in May—that he made his decisions independently and was not influenced by
Ewers.”[1]
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported as follows: “Yesterday, Navy
Capt. Denny Moynihan, a spokesman for the Joint Forces Command, said Mattis
testified ‘under oath that he did not speak to (Ewers) about the case and
was not influenced by him. He stands by his statement under oath.’”[2]
Gen Mattis’ public statement is a modern day version of the “skin
letters” that were commonly used to reprimand military judges for their
decisions. Congress drafted Article 37, in part, to eliminate this sort
of pernicious influence. (See, e.g., Gov’t Br. at
36-37). It is evident that even following his testimony and the Military
Judge’s ruling, Gen Mattis cared little about “appearances,”
adding further support for the Military Judge’s uncontroverted findings
on this matter. (R. 17Jun08 at 18-19) (“And this court specifically
finds, however, that Lieutenant General Mattis was unconcerned with how Colonel
Ewers’s presence in these meetings may appear to third parties.”). Robert J.
Muise, Esq. THOMAS MORE LAW CENTER 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive P.O. Box 393 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Tel: (734) 827-2001 Fax: (734) 930-7160 PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION: The information
transmitted in this mail message is privileged and confidential. If the reader of
this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent of the
intended recipient, be advised that any dissemination, distribution, or copying
of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error, please immediately notify us by telephone at
734-827-2001; and do not read the following message or open any attached files.
Thank you. [1] The article, which
is attached as Appendix A to this answer brief, can be found at: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/06/28/military/zcaed43dd200c477388257472005a24b4.txt.
[2] The article,
which is attached as Appendix B to this answer brief, can be found at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080618-9999-1n18haditha.html.
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