Hey Neal – CNN is looking for your contact info – what would you
like me to pass along to them, if anything?
_____________________________
John Donnelly | Press Secretary
Congressman Dan Burton (IN-05)
office: 317.848.0201
mobile: 202.225.9560
burton.house.gov
twitter.com/repdanburton
youtube.com/congressmandanburton
john.donnelly@mail.house.gov
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From: Neal Puckett
[mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 4:30 PM
To: Donnelly, John
Subject: Re: Burton-Rohrabacher-SEALs press conference
McCabe will show. He's trying to get Keefe to come
with him. Keefe is camera shy. I'll try to sort that out by
tomorrow.
Neal
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On Mar 2, 2010, at 4:24 PM, Donnelly, John wrote:
One other thought – if you can confirm that McCabe and Keefe
will show, that would be helpful in drumming up media attention. Even if
you don’t know for sure until Thursday, I can bomb out an advisory a few hours
before the presser starts.
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From: Neal Puckett
[mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02,
2010 3:36 PM
To: Donnelly, John
Subject: Re:
Burton-Rohrabacher-SEALs press conference
McCabe will be with us, and possibly Keefe will come with
McCabe. Happy to give an update on the case. Can keep it in
soundbites and brief. McCabe (and maybe Keefe, if he comes) will be in
civvies and must decline media contact. I'll get all this info to McCabe.
I'll be coming over from the Army Navy Club by Metro, but Matt needs to
know where to park. Any suggestions? He'll be taking his E-6
promotion exam that morning and has to drive up from VA Beach.
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On Mar 2, 2010, at 3:30 PM, Donnelly, John wrote:
We’ve set a 2:15pm meeting time in Rep. Burton’s office – room
2308 of the Rayburn House Office Building (it’s on the 3rd floor).
About a dozen retired SEALs, and other retired special forces,
will be there as well. Would you feel comfortable giving a short update
on the case to the group? Seems like the best way to prep for the presser.
Will McCabe be with you? If so, should I add him to the
media advisory, or does he have to lay low?
Other than that, please spread the word as best you can.
It’s been hard to get reporters to commit to attending.
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From: Neal Puckett
[mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02,
2010 3:16 PM
To: Donnelly, John
Subject: Re:
Burton-Rohrabacher-SEALs press conference
Please advise on meeting time for McCabe and me, along with
bldg and room no.
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On Feb 3, 2010, at 10:45 AM, Donnelly, John wrote:
Neal – this is great news. Thank you for taking the time to
join us. If possible, we’d love to have you meet with Dan and all the
retired SEALs at 12:30pm on Feb. 11th in the Rayburn House Office Building,
room 2308 (on the second floor). Everyone can meet and greet, and sort of
get in sync for the presser.
If McCabe can make it, we’d be honored. (Please let him know his
family is welcome to join in as well) With the pending trial, I’m sure
his presence means a delicate situation, so please give us any instructions we
might need.
From: Neal Puckett
[mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February
02, 2010 5:21 PM
To: Donnelly, John
Subject: Re:
Burton-Rohrabacher-SEALs press conference
Count me in along my assistant. Please provide instructions
for when and where I should be to link up with the group. I'll let you know
whether McCabe can attend.
I am honored to have been included.
On
Thursday, February 11 at 1:15pm, Reps. Burton and Rohrabacher, and (with the
help of Human Events) up to a dozen retired SEALs, will host a press conference
in the Capitol Building in support of McCabe, Keefe, and Huertas. Two of
the SEALs will speak – the first being Master Chief Bill Bruhmuller (http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=34844) and
we’re waiting on confirmation for the second.
Here’s
the order of events:
12:30
– SEALs w/ Jed Babbin of Human Events will meet with Rep. Burton in his office
(2308 Rayburn)
1:00 – All will walk down to the press conference (HVC-201 in the capitol
visitors center)
1:15
– press conference begins
Reps.
Burton and Rohrabacher will open with separate statements, show the 100,000 or
so signatures on their two petitions, and introduce the other speakers.
- Burton
- Rohrabacher
- MC Bruhmuller
- ranking officer
- Burton/Rohrabacher/SEALs to take
a few questions
We
hope the image of all the SEALs supporting McCabe, Keefe, and Huertas will be a
powerful message to the country. I’ll do my best to get as many reporters
in the room as possible.
The door is wide open if McCabe, Keefe, Huertas, or you, would
like to join in (in any capacity you/they wish). Let me know if you have
any thoughts on how to make the press conference most effective and helpful.
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From: Neal Puckett [mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Thursday, January
14, 2010 3:44 PM
To: Donnelly, John
Subject: Re: Rep. Burton
Responds To Gen. Cleveland's Letter
Thanks, so much, John. Appreciate all that you are
doing. All we really need now is for someone to tell MG Cleveland to
dismiss the charges against the three SEALs. That's the best you can do.
Otherwise, we're gearing up for trial at Norfolk on May 3rd.
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On Jan 7, 2010, at 12:12 PM, Donnelly, John wrote:
I can’t remember if I forwarded this press release and that
attached letters to you or not. It’s been busy, to say the least.
Just a heads up, we revamped www.savethenavyseals.com and created a new video. We’re
going to send our petition signatures to both Adm. Roughead and Gen. Cleveland
on Monday – we’ve got around 32,000 Americans signed on.
The next item will be to look into the deposition of Mr. Abed –
the Congressman would like to kick things into high gear if the SEALs are not
afforded their Constitutional rights. We’ll compare that to
Constitutional rights afforded to KSM and other terrorist being tried in NYC.
If there’s anything else we should be doing to help, or other
things that would be more effective in reaching a positive outcome for McCabe,
Keefe, and Huertas, please let me know. Also, I heard from CNN that they
plan to extend a lot of coverage to this situation, possibly starting next
week. Although, the producer said the government has requested a 2-month
stay, which could affect when they ramp up the coverage. We’d be grateful
for any insights on any sort of delay in the trial so we can coordinate our
efforts in a more timely and effective way.
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From: Congressman Burton
Communications [mailto:john.donnelly@prospermail.us]
Sent: Monday, January 04,
2010 1:48 PM
To: Donnelly, John
Subject: Rep. Burton
Responds To Gen. Cleveland's Letter
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
January 4, 2010
|
CONTACT: John Donnelly
(202) 225-2276
|
Rep. Burton Responds To Maj. Gen.
Cleveland's Letter
“In this case the American people's perception is that you are unfairly
prosecuting three heroes based, at least in part, upon the word of an
inhumane monster." –
Rep. Burton
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today,
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) sent a response to Major General Charles Cleveland's explanation for why
three Navy SEALs are currently standing trial for their alleged mistreatment
of terrorist leader Ahmed Hashim Abed. Rep. Burton's letter is as
follows:
January 4, 2010
Major General Charles T. Cleveland
Commander, Special Operations Command Central
U.S. Central Command
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, FL 33621-5101
Dear General Cleveland:
I received your letter of December 15, 2009, regarding the pending
courts-martial of Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe; and I
appreciate your office’s attempting to set the record straight and clarify
what you describe as the “incomplete and factually inaccurate” press
coverage of the situation. Having reviewed all of the material you
provided, I still have to strongly disagree with the decision of your
officers to pursue punishment of these Navy SEALs.
Ahmed Hashim Abed was one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq;
responsible for the murders of innocent American civilians and numerous
attacks on American and coalition forces. The injuries to Mr. Abed
were, as you readily admit, relatively minor and certainly pale in
comparison to the brutality of the crimes he helped perpetrate. While
Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe may have been wrong to not fully
cooperate with investigators, it seems to me that the punishment still far
exceeds the crime. In my opinion, prosecutorial discretion should
have been exercised.
Beyond the fates of the three individual sailors, I have some general
concerns about this case that are only reinforced by your letter.
First, the fact that fellow U.S. service personnel initially raised the
accusations against Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe strongly
suggests that we have created a culture within our Armed Forces where our
military personnel are now more concerned about protecting themselves from
legal jeopardy for every action or statement, than they are about fighting
the enemy. Our troops and these SEALs need to be bold and decisive in
combat; not hesitant and over-thinking every action for fear of
prosecution. We are in a war that we must win against a determined, patient
enemy who already believes we do not have the will to do what is necessary
to defeat them.
Second, because of the intensive media coverage of this case – even if it
is incomplete and factually inaccurate as you describe, this is the
public’s perception of the case – the American people are outraged by the
courts-martial of individuals who should be hailed as heroes. In
fact, over 30,000 Americans have signed my online petition calling for an
end to this prosecution. Perhaps even more alarming than the decline
in morale this case has caused the country is the boost in morale and
confidence that this case gives to Al Qaeda terrorists, who as I said,
already believe America does not have the will or stomach to do what is
necessary to defeat them.
General Cleveland, you are a distinguished soldier and former Special
Forces operator yourself. I have the utmost respect for you
personally. In this case the American people’s perception is that you
are unfairly prosecuting three heroes based, at least in part, upon the
word of an inhumane monster. Al-Qaeda’s own handbook instructs their
operatives to allege detainee abuse if detained by American forces.
In fact, al-Qaeda operatives are trained to self-inflict injuries for the
sole purpose of accusing U.S. forces of abuse. We've seen repeated
cases of this since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan began. In
my opinion, carrying forward these courts-martial will do our Nation and
our Armed Forces more harm than good. I respectfully and strongly
urge you to exercise your leadership authority, stop the impending trials
and drop the charges against these American heroes.
I await your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Dan Burton
Member of Congress
CC: Hon. Barack Obama, Hon. Robert Gates, Adm. Mike
Mullen
ATTACHMENTS
(to press release):
PDF copy of
12/15/09 letter from Maj. Gen. Cleveland to Rep. Dan Burton. Maj.
Gen. Cleveland's letter was a response to a request from 40 Members of
Congress, led by Rep. Burton, that the charges against the three Navy SEALs
be dropped.
PDF copy of 1/4/10
letter from Rep. Burton to Maj. Gen Cleveland.
For
more background, please click this link:
http://burton.house.gov/posts/40-congressmen-join-rep-burton-in-asking-brass-to-drop-charges-against-the-navy-seal-three
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