A U.S. attorney in Virginia has opened an investigation into possible crimes by U.S. civilians in Iraq, an inquiry that appears to be connected to the 2003 death of an Iraqi general during an interrogation.
It is unclear exactly what prosecutors are focusing on, but a federal grand jury subpoena, obtained last week by The Denver Post, sought testimony from Army Chief Warrant Officer Jefferson Williams and a Special Forces soldier to testify before a grand jury “about events that occurred in Iraq.”
Williams and Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. are scheduled to face court-martial this fall at Fort Carson in connection with the death of Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush in November 2003. Neither soldier has testified before the grand jury, although they were subpoenaed. It is unclear whether the investigation has been dropped.
“I have no idea what they’re looking into,” Williams’ attorney William Cassara wrote in an e-mail exchange when asked about the subpoena. “We called them and said he would likely not testify and they withdrew it.”
The subpoena is the first indication of a civilian investigation into possible crimes committed in Iraq. Civilian courts do not have jurisdiction over active- duty military personnel, so the grand jury investigation could be focused on CIA involvement in the beating of Mowhoush days before his death. “It’s a matter before the courts, so we can’t comment,” said a CIA spokeswoman, who did not give her name.
Court documents in the case against Welshofer and Williams show that CIA officials beat Mowhoush several days before his death, breaking ribs and causing severe bruising. Testimony in the case also said that officials, also believed to be CIA, carried around a sledgehammer handle, which they used to beat prisoners.
It is unclear whether Welshofer received a similar subpoena because his attorney could not be reached for comment.
The subpoena requested that Williams and Sgt. Joshua Klickman, stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., appear before a grand jury for three days starting July 11.
Klickman, reached by phone, said he did not appear because an investigator determined he did not have relevant information. “I talked to an investigator, and it wasn’t worth bringing me out there,” said Klickman, who said he was “not free to talk” about what he had been asked.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Gillis, whose name appears on the subpoena, and a spokeswoman for U.S. attorney Paul J. McNulty declined to comment.
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-820-1626 or akane@denverpost.com
