THE US REPORT

Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) are bringing together more than a dozen retired SEALs and other Special Forces personnel at a press conference on Thursday calling for the exoneration of the SEAL3. At the conference Capt. Larry Bailey, Navy SEAL and combat veteran who served from 1962-1990, will speak about the impact of the case on SEALs in the battlefield. The congressmen announced the SEAL3 presser on Wednesday.

SEALs Matthew McCabe, Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe were on the team that captured Ahmed Hashim Abed who is the alleged mastermind behind the murder and mutilation of four American contractors in Fallujah in 2004.

In December, 2009 and January 2010, the SEALs were arraigned in military court on charges of giving false statements to investigators and abusing Abed after the detainee claimed he had been punched by one of his captors.

With the trials set to begin for Huertas and Keefe next month, Reps. Burton and Rohrabacher will again call for their exoneration and present signed petitions of support from more than 100,000 Americans calling for the same.  The petitions will then be delivered to Maj. Gen Cleveland and Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations.

The US Report has reported on this case extensively, with information about charges levied by the government and the Facebook Group advocating for the SEALs’ release. The Facebook Group Support the Navy SEALs who captured Ahmed Hashim Abed now has more than 113,000 members.

Fox and Friends on Thursday reported on the presser that will be held at 3 p.m. in The Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C.

An overriding concern for many is the potential impact in the field on troops who take on the most dangerous jobs.

In an exclusive interview in January, an officer agreed to an interview with TUSR associate editor Chris Carter. The officer told Carter: “SEAL field commanders often write detailed reports that emphasize professional conduct. Months and years later, investigators find criminal acts even though sworn and appointed leaders swear they never happened. Enlisted men are given substandard representation and threatened with years of punishment. Many are told they are being debriefed and not investigated, many are not aware that they are afforded the rights of search and questioning of all American citizens. Seven-page shooter reports have to be filled out if a SEAL handles a militant. All of which can be used against the operator in open court.”

In February, TUSR reported remarks from Jack Lynch, President of the UDT-SEAL Association. Lynch said, “The charges or accusations against our Navy SEALs were not made from within our SEAL community. They came from outside our Naval Special Warfare community.”

Maritime Tactical Security, Inc., has established a defense fund for the SEAL3.

At the Washington meeting, Neal Puckett, attorney for Matthew McCabe, will also be on hand to provide an update on the case. [By Kay B. Day; based on text from announcement at Rep. Dan Burton’s House page.]