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Anthony Bolante / Reuters
Attorney John Henry Browne, right, discusses the case of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales in Seatttle on Friday. With Browne is associate counsels Emily Gause.
An attorney for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who has been charged with killing 17 Afghan civilians in two villages, said Friday that the defense team is “facing an almost complete information blackout from the government,” which is having a “devastating effect” on their investigation.
Bales, a 38-year-old father of two, is accused of creeping into the villages at night on March 11 and attacking the villagers. The Army has charged him with 17 counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and six counts of assault. Nine children, four men and four women, were slain.
“We are facing an almost complete information blackout from the government which is having a devastating effect on our ability to investigate the charges preferred against our client,” his civilian attorney, John Henry Browne, said in a statement.
Maj. Chris Ophardt, a spokesman for 1st Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, said the investigation was ongoing.
“The prosecution will provide the defense with evidence in accordance with the Rules for Courts-Martial and the Military Rules of Evidence. Within these guidelines the prosecution is and has been communicating with the defense,” he said in an e-mail.
Browne, who is in Seattle, was speaking about members of the defense team in Afghanistan. He said they had tried to interview injured civilians being treated at Kandahar Hospital but were denied access and told to coordinate with prosecutors. He said that the following day, the prosecution team interviewed the wounded, with defense counsel only later learning that they had been released from hospital and there was no contact information for them.
“These witnesses are now who knows where … people just disappear into the countryside in Afghanistan,” he said later Friday at a press conference. “They (prosecutors) actually promised us that if we sent people to Afghanistan … that they would cooperate and make witnesses available for us, and they obviously violated that promise.”
Browne also said in the statement that his team was denied access to medical records of the wounded, making it “even more impossible” to locate them, and that the prosecution was “withholding the entire investigative file from the defense team.”
Afghan massacre: Sgt Bales case echoes loudly for ex-soldiers on hotline for vets
The Army doesn’t have any requirement to provide evidence to the defense at this point, according to military rules governing courts-martial. The next stage of the legal process is the Article 32 hearing, akin to a civilian grand jury, and which is “supposed to be a discovery tool for the defense,” Michael Navarre, an adviser at the National Institute of Military Justice and a former Navy prosecutor and defense counsel, told msnbc.com.
In general, most military prosecutors are cooperating with the defense and will provide some information -- though not everything -- prior to the Article 32 hearing to ensure it goes smoothly, he added, noting that some evidence may even be discovered after that proceeding.
“As a defense counsel, one of your jobs is to … build a public record as to what the government’s doing during the course of their investigation and also to some degree build sympathy for your client,” he said. “Given the seriousness and the gravity of the charges against his client, I would say it’s not uncommon to point out that the government isn’t being cooperative with your client in the investigation given the current public perception of his client.”
Browne said that though the defense team didn’t have the right to certain discovery materials until 30 days before the Article 32 hearing, he’d had better dealings in the past with prosecutors.
“We usually have the cooperation of prosecutors and they will give us information ahead of time just so we can be prepared and that’s just not happening in this case,” he said at the press conference. “My gut, from a defense lawyer’s standpoint, is when the prosecutors are not cooperating there’s a reason, and that reason usually is because they don’t really have much of case.”
“If they want cooperation from us, they better start cooperating more,” he later added.
How Staff Sgt. Bales' lawyers are fighting for his life
Bales, of Bellevue, Wash., is being held at a U.S. military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He was on his fourth tour in a war zone since signing up for the Army after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. He had been in Iraq on his previous tours, during which he suffered a foot injury and a traumatic brain injury in a vehicle rollover, media reports say.
Browne said Bales was “holding up,” communicating with his wife, being treated well. He said Bales had seen a chaplain.
Some military law experts interviewed by msnbc.com said they expect the defense to mount a legal pincer attack, in which Bales’ attorneys may try to win acquittal by attacking the evidence but have a fallback position aimed at winning a lesser sentence than the death penalty -- which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said could be sought in this case.
That fallback position could be diminished mental capacity, which they may attribute to his reported combat injuries and mental trauma.
For alleged Afghan shooter, death penalty unlikely
U.S. military officials told NBC News on Friday that the Army was preparing to conduct a psychological exam of Bales. The exam, known as the “706 Board,” is considered routine in such cases and will include a team of psychiatrists.
It's likely Bales would remain at Fort Leavenworth and the board doctors would travel to him, though a final decision has not been made.
NBC’s Chief Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski and news producers Karen Lucht and Courtney Kube contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Are they really surprised that the government isn't sharing information. They should know up front that military justice is to justice what military music is to music.
Ok guys I sent a message to the Texas representative on armed services and to one of my senators. Your turn.
What else could be expect from the Pentagon and the "War Machine?" However, I do believe John Henry Browne is up to the task of preparing a solid defense for his client as all of the facts come out!
If (but for the grace of God go I!) I were ever in need of a criminal defense attorney, JHBrowne would be "it!"
I'm no lawyer (especially not a military one), but if the prosecution were not following the rules of discovery, then wouldn't they be setting things up for an easy mistrial?
MARCH 31-32, 2012
You Really Think the Killers of Trayvon Martin and Those 16 Afghan Villagers Will Ever Do Time?
by ALEXANDER COCKBURN
I'd say the chances of George Zimmerman spending time behind bars for killing Trayvon Martin are about the same as Sergeant Robert Bales doing time for killing those 16 Afghan villagers the night of March 11. Zero.
Like most things that happen in America these days, the Trayvon Martin case is turning into yet another hearse trundling the Republican Party to its doom in November.
A brief outline of the facts. It's February 26. Trayvon Martin is a 17-year old black kid watching a big basketball game in the home of his father's fiancée in Sanford, a small-town outlier of Orlando, Florida. Sanford has a population of 55,000, about a third black. The fiancée lives in a mixed-race, gated community. At halftime Martin goes to the corner store and buys an iced tea and a bag of Skittles.
It's raining and Martin has his hoodie up over his head and is talking to his girl friend on his cell phone. On his way back he is spotted by 28-year old George Zimmerman, a cop wannabe, self-appointed neighborhood crime watcher. Apparently he has pestered the police station for months with reports of "suspicious 12-year-olds" walking through the neighborhood. Zimmerman – white dad, Latina mother — is wearing a red jacket and blue jeans. In his pocket is a Kel-Tec 9 mm automatic pistol.
Zimmerman calls the local station and says he's following a suspicious character. He describes Martin as black and says he's acting strangely and could be on drugs. The teenager starts to run, Zimmerman says. A 911 dispatcher asks Zimmerman whether he's following Martin, and Zimmerman says he is. The dispatcher says clearly that Zimmerman doesn't need to do that.
There's a lull in the transmission and you can hear Zimmerman mutter clearly to himself , "These @!$%#s .. . They always get away." On other calls between Zimmerman and the 9/11 dispatcher he refers to "@!$%#ing c— _ns." CNN says the words are indistinct, which they aren't. CNN also says the case is "complicated", which it isn't....
http://www.counterpunch.org/
This whole thing is bizarre. You have the wounded children stating that there was more than one assailant-- see the other MSNBC story here:
Child witnesses to Afghan massacre say Robert Bales was not alone
The witnesses reported "other soldiers" standing outside of the houses "with flashlights" and even more people stating that there were helicopters present during the killings-- and THEN you have a suspect who has no memory of the night in question and who was reportedly "surprised" when they took his weapon from him and arrested him... cover up? Possibly... I can easily imagine this guy being set up as the fall guy for a coordinated action by other members in his unit. Roofies are a hell of a drug... Now couple that information with this uncooperative prosecution and their apparent efforts to keep the defense from reaching the eye-witnesses of the crime and the questionable nature of this case begins to grow even further...
Sounds like a Matt Damon movie....
I have no idea what the military code of justice is, especially since 9/11 has clearly secretly expanded military powers in ways that are mysterious to most Americans. Still, if I were this guy's lawyer, I'd go after the treatment of these soldiers, vis a vis medical care/stress/mental health, and show how these kinds of atrocities are an outgrowth of endless wars and poor support. Givewn Bales' medical history, the military can't rule this as irrelevant. By stalling, the govt risks getting in the way of Bales getting a truly fair trial.
However, I'm glad to see that the military is not torturing Bales & making him go naked for allegedly slaughtering many people as opposed to the way Bradley Manning was treated for his crime of allegedly revealing secrets that embarrassed the country.
WMG--what possible reason would the US military have for going to all that trouble to kill and burn the bodies of Afghan women and children? It does nothing but help destroy everything we've been trying to accomplish there.
Since I was old enough during the Vietnam war I've seen the government coverups. I trust their justice system a little more than I trusted their body counts
@Fred
I didn't say it was a condoned/authorized action by the military, I said it may have been a conspiracy perpetrated by other members of his unit (although authorizing the helicopters would require a level of authority that begs the question as to whether unit commanders were involved-- but there's no clear evidence that the helicopters, even if they were there, were operating in coordination with this slaughter-- they may simply have been overhead en route someplace else). There are reports, corroborated reports, that after an IED blast in the village that took the leg of a service member in the unit, that someone purportedly told the village elder that "there would be consequences." It may or may not be related, but need I remind you of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam? Troops can only withstand so much stress and betrayal before they begin to punish those they see as complicit to their enemy.
I'm not pretending to know the facts in the case, all I'm saying is that it sounds fishy.
Not surprising at all.
Let's see....I believe we've all lived through this scenario before and it all comes down to a math problem. Incident + Gov blackout = Scapegoat....
Can't see the evidence. Hiding the witness. DIRTY POOL!
Shenanigans.
I called it wasn't committed by a lone soldier ... long ago (see previous comments). I'm calling this guy either wasn't involved, under orders to do it with others (botched operation) or was otherwise used in some way as a patsy.
This guy is being set up. But why? Doesn't seem like he was unpopular. Think it's because he owed the money? And that "fits the cover?"
Next step put the government on trial.
There is a link to the congressmen by state and with what committee they are on. That has their contact phone number and link to their facebook or e-mail/ There is also one to the senate with the same info. Talking to each other does no good but tagging the armed services committee might. Secondly starting a petition just like the one that started the Trayvon thing would be good. If we don't speak so they can hear us I'm afraid this guy is going to get railroaded.
Fine, if the prosecutors don't want to disclose fully, then drop the charges. I know it sounds disgusting. But our soldiers deserve an equal defense at the very least
Let's see, hide the evidence, find a soldier that has served several tours so he could be probable for PTSD, and had a head injury so he might have gone crazy. I believe we have our scapegoat!
Or the guilty party?
Talk to the villagers and take the pictures of the base and villages and the path both ways and the darkness.
Village witnesses have said their hats with light and their guns with light and there were flash lights to help the shooters. Take the pictures of the hat with light and the gun with light and the flash light.
Show them to the witnesses and tape the testimonies.
Mr. Browne there a good reason for the blackout, you will use every bit of information you get for an opportunity to advertise, promote and publicize your defense and Bales innocents. Bales knows what he did, when he did and why. I do not buy one bit that he blacked out during the incident. Bales is nothing more than a con man, he has been conning his way through life. I like to know more about his fraud investigation and did he use the Army to avoid prosecution.
Popo--I agree wholeheartedly with your first sentence. However, I have not heard any facts or evidence supporting the rest of your statements; indeed at this juncture there are many conficting reports. The investigation is ongoing, and I am withholding judgment until I have been supplied all the facts. Unlike Mr.Browne, most lawyers know to wait until an investigation is completed before making declaratory statements. If there is indeed an information "blackout," it is because the military wants to not jeopardize SSGT Bales' rights to a fair trial, not make false statements or mislead the public, nor try the case in the media or on the internet, until they have had an opportunity to examine all the evidence. All and all, the hallmarks of our judicial system and Browne should honor the same system.
try to remember, when the parents of Baby Lisa in KC finally got a competent attorney, the first thing that happned was no more leaked partial, information or interviews for the public. Good attorneys know to say nothing until all the facts are in. Mr. Browne apparently does not subscribe to the rules of evidence 101, but would rather make a name for himself in the media at his "client's" expense.
In this country the defense is supposed to see all the evidence before trial it is called DISCLOSURE. In this instance unlike on the streets of your town witnesses will disappear crime scene will disappear. All the witnesses were in one place the defense asked to see them the government refused and now they are scattered. So HOW does the defense track down witnesses in a war zone without the army's help.
Popo I knew 6 guys who joined the army to avoid criminal records during Vietnam. The circuit judge was letting them to avoid ruining their lives over getting caught with a joint, joyriding (in a truck that looked like a chicken) and getting his girlfriend pregnant 2 weeks before her 18th birthday. And that was the toughest judge in the county.
Would you ask any less of the Obama administration. They leaked the info to attempt to gain a conviction and none to help his defense. Obama doesn't like the military and the military has a disdain for Obama and Panneta.
Look at the way this administration has acted for the last four years. Middle of the night votes on a bill no one had read. This adminstration is hiding everything it does. Can you trust it. I can't. We need to let them know we are watching this. Let them know we better see a complete investigation and we will hold anyone responsible for not doing it fairly. Even if Obama is re-elected make sure he understands if this is not a fair investigation we will push for impeachment.
Oh for God's sake grow up. The President isn't personally involved in every incident that happens in the military and you know it. Stop using the face of the executive branch as a scapegoat for anything that happens that you disagree with. It's moronic. I didn't blame Bush directly for every questionable thing a soldier did in Iraq.
Tell me exactly how Obama was personally involved in any of this. Show me any evidence other than your assertions because you don't like the guy. This is in the hands of the military judicial system. It's a faceless machine made up of many people and a process that's not guided by any one person. Not even the President.
Plenty of the military likes Obama. There are Democratic soldiers just as there are Republican soldiers just as there are non-partisan soldiers. Please, take your stupid right wing talking points about this and shove them.
Obama haters...You'd be funny if you weren't so ridiculous...
Go back to Faux, they are calling for you!
Facts please "Obama hates the military"!
Dangerous mind the president is the Commander in Chief. He isn't involved in everything but if he says do it right and fair that is a direct order. And he is responsible for the investigation being f--ked up. He sets the culture of the military leaders it is a leadership function.
the only reason for the info black out is because this is a cover up. That is my opinion.
A group of American soldiers did this. they and all involved I hope are caught and killed in the most horrific way that can be dreamt up.
Well, I wouldn't wish them killed but it seems that they might have been ordered to do this...remember Lt. Calley in Vietnam? He was ordered to massacre some villagers...then after following orders, they prosecuted him and he got 20 years...I can't remember if he served it all...they ruined him and said he should have stood up to his superiors. Yeah, right. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
The My Lai Massacre, did a speech on that in high school. Lt. Calley wasn't sentenced to death though, just imprisoned and then later released, last I know, resides in GA.
Really Darrold, you and many others don't believe in much else...he is an AMERICAN and you must have forgotten that it's innocent until proven guilty, even under the military's UCMJ...hope you rot in hell for your horrific thoughts.
God Bless all of our troops...HOOAH!!!
The Army has a very poor track record for investigative candor and frankness as evidenced by numerous scandals throughout the ten-years of these wars, so I am sure the Army is just trying to get their own stories straight to avoid predictable embarrassment. Plus, now the Army finds itself investigating whether Bales was in fact alone as earlier reported. After the Art 32 findings, the mule train will be on the tracks and normal criminal procedure and legal discovery will ensue to include any exculpatory evidence. Don't change that Bat-Channel.
Well without the assistance of the army just how is the defense going to get to these witnesses? If they drag this @!$%# out until we leave how does the defense get to the witnesses? This didn't happen in Times square you know. If they have to wait how do they get any evidence after all the crime scene isn't closed off you know?
This reeks. I'd like to trust our government, and our armed forces, especially as a veteran, but they've shown me time and time again that they can't be trusted. I wonder if we'll ever know the truth?
Truth?? You can't HANDLE the truth!
Jack Nickelson to Tom Cruise
Probably NEVER will know the truth...
In short the army has already tried and convicted Bales. Why muddy the waters with a good defense?
No, the American people have convicted him along with our piss poor media.
God bless our troops...HOOAH!!!!
Not sure we can question,
whether or not Bale's did it,
but rather, why? and were OTHERS involved?
The American people need to be all over their Senators and Congresspeople over this...some big coverup is going on. I feel for Sgt. Bales...he is an American citizen and deserves an honest trial.
I already sent a message to the senator and 2 representatives from my state, mine and the one on the armed services committee. There is a web page with all their contact info including which committees they serve on.
Sgt Bales is accused of an awful crime. He needs to be tried FAIRLY for the crime even though that might bother many of us. For this trial to be anything but a farce, his lawyer needs access to ALL information. Something about this whole incident has been off from the beginning. The American and Afghan people need to know that, in this country ,we have a system of justice that at least gives the appearance of being just. What is happening now looks like a huge cover up of something. What might that be? I think the Attorney for Sgt Bales also needs to know what kinds of meds Bales was on and what studies, if any, have been done on these meds. It seems pretty dangerous as well as unwise, to put soldiers on isolated posts if they are on any kind of psychological drugs for mental health purposes. The Military ought to be on trial too for allowing any soldier to wander off alone like this at night or have alcohol on these posts. Something is wrong with the whole set up over there. Someone was certainly lax. That does not excuse the crime but it certainly sets up strange circumstancs.
I agree, completely! There is a lot more than we are being told, things don't add up!
Bring our troops home!
Browne needs to shut his publicity seeking face up and stop jeopardizing SSGT Bales case! he needs to let the military court experts experienced in military court system who are in fact in Afghanistan and handling the investigation do their jobs without interference from him. One has only to look Browne up on the internet to figure the kind of lawyer he is--look up the Darrell Cloud case which he so royally messed up that the courts overturned the conviction and granted a new trial due to the "ineffective" representation. Then of course there is the Bar Association matter. Shut up Browne you are telling us nothing of value but getting a few minutes of air time at the cost to your "client."
You do understand that Browne is BALES attorney, right??
The military doesn't give a CRAP about Bales, He's their FALL GUY! They don't want Browne's team "snooping around over in Afghanistan.
Browne, who is in Seattle, was speaking about members of the defense team in Afghanistan. He said they had tried to interview injured civilians being treated at Kandahar Hospital but were denied access and told to coordinate with prosecutors. He said that the following day, the prosecution team interviewed the wounded, with defense counsel only later learning that they had been released from hospital and there was no contact information for them.
“These witnesses are now who knows where … people just disappear into the countryside in Afghanistan,” he said later Friday at a press conference. “They (prosecutors) actually promised us that if we sent people to Afghanistan … that they would cooperate and make witnesses available for us, and they obviously violated that promise.”
They are the ones telling Browne they are being stonewalled dipstick.
Guilty or not, I only hope he gets a fair trial. Right now it seems the military has already made up its mind and is looking for ways to ensure they get a conviction. I'm willing to bet they are "stacking the deck" against Bales as you read this. Meaning they are going to think of every charge they can hit him with. Stuff like drunk on duty, conduct unbecoming, failure to follow orders, bypassing security measures, out of ranks, out of uniform, etc. etc.. I've seen that many times before, and they do it to ensure something sticks.
See the video report on Australian TV that interviews the children who were there and the Afghan general who states that Bales threatened the villages with retaliation over the IED attack that cost the leg of a close friend.
I wrote this scenario immediately after the incident happened because it mirrored incidents from Iraq where US troops attacked Iraqis who stood by and watched GI's being blown up and said NOTHING!
This episode HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PTSD!!! Watch the SBS Australian video. It's well done and shows how the US is viewed by OUR ALLIES!!!
Bales just killed all the people who he thought were complicit in the maiming of his friend, that's all....
Then go live in Australia, you have no idea what it's like to be an AMERICAN soldier or any other military member in a combat zone, you coward!
According to villagers, at least 20 soldiers were involved. The "lone gunman" theory is garbage.
This was as much an act of terrorism as any other. The perps were the US military.
Did you put up this much of a fight after 9/11...didn't think so.
Dear Steelermama,
1 - I'm from Pittsburgh
2 - you got this all wrong.
Bales appears to have been a crooked stock broker before getting a $1.5 million judgement against him for fraud. He then joined the Army to evade paying the elderly couple he defrauded for 12 years.
Just like in Iraq, many Iraqis JUST WATCHED as IED's were buried and would JUST WATCH as our soldiers got blown up.
Bales was part of a group that watched over the villages to protect them from the Taliban. He was freaked that even the kids never warned the US troops that bombs were buried. He felt betrayed by all the people he was protecting. He got mad, he got drunk and he got even...
Jeff, Do you have a link to the stockbroker story? I've only read the "Bale's was great" articles.
Nobody say anything until we get our stories straight.
johinpa--agreed. or at least until ALL the facts are known. And that goes for Browne too!
I can not fathom why in the previous months of this story not one person has asked this question...
This is a military base in a hostile country. A lot people outside the gates want to kill the people inside the gates...
and yet...soldiers on the base are free to leave the base and come back at will.....even at 1:30 AM??????
Give me a break!
Coverup. Pure and simple. But that can't be..right? Our military would never lie to us!
And I spent 14 years in the military so I earned my right to my opinion.
The rules in a military trial are different then a civilian trial. If his attorney isn't able to give him the best defense possible then he needs a different attorney who does. If guilty he needs the death penalty. If not he needs help.
tjharris: I coudn't agree more, as would most thoughtful Americans. Browne is just one of those on the "defense team." the really experienced ones defending Bales are actualy currently in afghanistan and not talking to the press at all. It seems Browne just needed for some reason to host his own press conference, get some publicity, and throw out some more information that is not based in fact but just his personal opinion. The real brains are still investigating and waiting for information before forming an opinion, as they do not want to jeopardize the appearance of fairness before all the facts are gathered.
"… people just disappear into the countryside in Afghanistan" -- or, more to the point, criminals just vanish into thin air and get out of the country on a moment's notice...