This story was originally published in The Denver Post on May 31, 2006.
Washington – An attorney for one of three Marine officers relieved of duty following reports of the shooting deaths of two dozen civilians in Iraq by members of their battalion says his client is not a target of the military investigations into the incident.
Capt. James Kimber, the attorney’s client, was one of three officers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment relieved of command in April for what the Marine Corps said was a “lack of confidence” in their leadership abilities.
Another was his superior, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chesanni, the battalion commander, from the northwestern Colorado town of Rangely.
The three were relieved five months after members of their unit allegedly killed civilians in the town of Hadithah, Iraq, on Nov. 19. The military initially said civilians died in a bomb blast, but the deaths are now being investigated as murder.
Kimber has been told by military authorities that he is not a target of their probes, said his lawyer, Paul Hackett.
Hackett said Kimber was told he was relieved of command because members of his unit used profanity, wore non-regulation sunglasses and criticized aspects of the war in Iraq in a TV interview.
Hackett, who said he had not spoken with Chesanni, added that he does not believe that Chesanni is a target of criminal investigators either. Chesanni was not present when the shootings took place, said Hackett.
Authorities also are investigating whether details of the deaths were misreported up the chain of command and to the public.
Meanwhile, National Public Radio on Tuesday reported that Chessani approved $38,000 in reparations payments to relatives of Iraqis killed at Hadithah. Such payments sometimes are made to families of innocent Iraqi civilians killed by the military.
Reporter Tom Bowman reported on NPR’s “All Things Considered” that the payments were authorized by Chessani along with his superiors. The report, which did not cite sources, said it’s uncertain how far up the chain of command the approval had to go.
According to NPR, investigators have been told that a sergeant coaxed other Marines to come up with a cover story about the incident.
The squad leader allegedly sought to convey that his group was not at fault for the deaths, NPR reported.
