CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A four-star general said Monday he never received improper advice from an aide after bringing charges against a sergeant in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops stemming from the Iraq war.
Gen. James Mattis testified for nearly two hours as the first witness at a hearing on a motion to dismiss charges against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the only remaining defendant in the case involving the killing of 24 Iraqis in Hadithah in November 2005.
Two years ago, a military judge dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani of Rangeley for failing to investigate the Hadithah killings after finding Mattis had been unduly influenced by an aide. Mattis had brought charges and ordered a court-martial in the Chessani case.
