Emily
MikeThis is a delicious irony. The federal judge in the criminal case against five Blackwater security guards on manslaughter charges has ruled that the defense lawyers representing the guards are not entitled to a government security escort to travel in Iraq to investigate the criminal allegations and, therefore, must hire their own private security guards.
The defense lawyers had argued that they needed government security because a private contractor would not receive cooperation from the government. The judge called the arguments speculative.
Blackwater has been an embarrassment (to say the least) to the U.S. in Iraq. While still providing services in Iraq (how could you do that, President Obama?), Blackwater changed its name to “Xe” in February in an attempt to get away from its horrible reputation. Jeremy Scahill of the Nation magazine had exposed Blackwater in a series of articles and the bestselling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.
Filed under: Law Tagged: | Blackwater Security Guards, Blackwater Trial
