[NYTr] Condi Rice & co-Criminals Deny They Gave "Immunity" to Blackwater

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

It's not Immunity; It's Impunity

[Well, it's not "immunity," claimed a State Department shill
on Tuesday at a press conference. "We're not authorized to grant
immunity from Federal investigation or prosecution."  

Guess they meant to tell their Blackwater thugs they were being given
IMPUNITY. 

Why all the fuss is illustrated by the articles below. All hell broke
loose at the revelation that the Bush Reich was still protecting its
corporatre privatized storm-troopers, and even a Congressman (Henry
Waxman) was outraged. --NY Transfer.


AP via Fox - Oct 30, 2007
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306521,00.html


Officials: 'Immunity' Protects Blackwater Guards From
Self-Incrimination Only

WASHINGTON --A so-called statement of immunity signed
by Blackwater bodyguards questioned by a State
Department investigative team is standard boilerplate
used to protect federal employees during official
administrative inquiries, law enforcement officials
said Tuesday.

The "immunity" statement, called a Garrity Clause,
does not prevent the Blackwater guards from being
prosecuted in a court of law for any charges relating
to the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in Baghdad
that left 17 Iraqis dead.

But a former FBI counterterrorism official says the
case being made by the FBI is tougher now because
investigators cannot use the initial statements made
by the Blackwater guards. The FBI was sent by the
State Department two weeks after the incident to probe
whether the guards shot indiscriminately.

"It doesn't preclude these individuals from being
prosecuted. What it does is just make the FBI's
investigation extremely difficult, which they're very
good at going back and reconstructing these types of
things. These statements that they used  the
statements that they had given to the diplomatic
security, they're not going to be able to use those in
court," said Richard Schoeberl, a former FBI agent in
the counterterrorism division.

A copy of the immunity statement, obtained by FOX
News, reads:

"I understand that ... disciplinary action, including
dismissal from the Department's Worldwide Personnel
Protective Services contract, may be undertaken if I
refuse to provide this statement or fail to do so
fully and truthfully. I further understand that
neither my statements nor any information or evidence
gained by reason of my statements can be used against
me in a criminal proceeding except that if I knowingly
and willfully provide false statements or information,
I may be criminally prosecuted for that."

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack insisted
Tuesday that the Blackwater guards are not off the
legal hook.

"The Department of State cannot immunize an individual
from federal prosecution," he said.

The Justice Department also issued a statement Tuesday
saying it can't discuss the details of the case, but
the Blackwater guards are not clear from possible
criminal charges.

"Any suggestion that the Blackwater employees in
question have been given immunity from federal
criminal prosecution is inaccurate. The Justice
Department and the FBI continue the criminal
investigation of this matter knowing that this
investigation involves a number of complex issues. We
are unable to comment further at this time," reads a
written statement from Justice Department spokesman
Dean Boyd.

The Garrity Clause does require the guards to agree
that any information or evidence resulting from
statements furnished "may be used in the course of
disciplinary proceedings, which could result in
disciplinary action, including dismissal."

"The kinds of, quote 'immunity' that I've seen
reported in the press would not preclude a successful
criminal prosecution," McCormack said.

Lawmakers are in no way pleased with what they are
hearing. Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House
Oversight and Government Affairs Committee, had been
conducting his own probe of the shootings until the
Justice Department requested lawmakers wait until the
FBI concludes its inquiry.

He wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on
Tuesday asking for details of the decision-making
behind the grant of immunity, and the deal, but said
he wasn't yet looking for witness statements provided
after the immunity was given.

"This rash grant of immunity was an egregious
misjudgment. It raises serious questions about who
conferred the immunity, who approved it at the State
Department, and what their motives were," Waxman,
D-Calif., wrote.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and
Democratic Reps. David E. Price and Janice D.
Schakowsky also sent a letter to Rice and Acting
Attorney General Peter Keisler requesting more
information about the immunity deal.

"It is our understanding that as a result of any
immunity given to the guards, prosecutors will have to
prove that any evidence they use in bringing criminal
charges against the guards was uncovered independently
of the guards' initial statements. This would
apparently make the prosecution more difficult," the
lawmakers wrote.

The company has defended itself against accusations by
saying its convoy was under attack before it opened
fire. A follow-up investigation by the Iraqi
government, however, concluded that Blackwater's men
were unprovoked. No witnesses have been found to
contradict that finding.

An initial incident report by U.S. Central Command,
which oversees military operations in Iraq, also
indicated there was "no enemy activity involved" in
the Sept. 16 incident. The report says Blackwater
guards were traveling against the flow of traffic
through a traffic circle when they "engaged five
civilian vehicles with small arms fire" at a distance
of 50 meters.

According to a source familiar with the investigation,
19 Blackwater employees are implicated in the
shooting, as well as two Blackwater employees in a
helicopter sent to the scene after trouble was
reported. Two or three of the Blackwater employees
have returned back to the U.S. because their contracts
ended. A total of five of the 21 Blackwater employees
reportedly opened fire with their weapons.

Those who have remained in Baghdad working for
Blackwater are carrying out limited duties within the
"wire"  or Green Zone. They have not been allowed to
accompany diplomatic convoys since the Sept incident,
the source said.

A Blackwater spokesman said the company is fully
cooperating with the FBI investigation. A source close
to Blackwater said the guards' initial statements
under the Garrity Clause can be used in a court of law
if any of the guards accused any of the other guards
of wrongdoing.

The Garrity Clause protects the individual from making
self-incriminating statements. It is not immunity
granted by the State Department, but a guarantee
protecting federal employees and automatically
received as a result of several Supreme Court
precedents, the source said. The State Department
apparently believes the independent contractors are
government actors for Garrity purposes.

Meanwhile, Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates met
in the Pentagon for an hour Tuesday to discuss greater
oversight of security contractors.

I believe it's safe to say all this stuff needs to be
tightened up, that we need to be more clear about
whether it be the standards by which (contractors) are
trained, their understanding of (the) mission, their
rules for use of force and clearly coordination," said
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell. "There has not
been a satisfactory coordination of movement to this
point.

On Tuesday, Iraq's cabinet drafted a bill for the
parliament to lift the immunity of private contractors
operating in Iraq. Blackwater's contract is up in May
and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki doesn't want it
renewed.

FOX News' Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press
contributed to this report.

) Associated Press
Copyright 2007 FOX News Network, LLC.

                           ***

PA via Google - Oct 30, 2007
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGapFKngsaF-0KUCorXfEJcxPTLg

Immunity row hits Blackwater probe

US officials are coming under pressure to declare if
they have given guards from controversial Blackwater
private security firm immunity from prosecution.

The company, which provides bodyguards for US
officials, is at the centre of several inquiries into
the deaths of Iraqi civilians

Critics said a State Department promise of immunity
has caused confusion among other government bodies
involved in the issue and could make it impossible to
bring prosecutions over the shooting of 17 Iraqis.

The immunity deal has already delayed a criminal
inquiry into the killings.

State Department officials have refused to confirm or
deny that immunity had been granted. One said: "If in
fact such a decision was made, it was done without any
input or authorisation from any senior State
Department official in Washington."

The FBI took over the shootings investigation earlier
in October and agents have just returned from Baghdad,
where they have been trying to collect evidence
without using statements from Blackwater employees who
were given immunity by other government officials.

Three senior law enforcement officials said all the
bodyguards involved were given the legal protection as
investigators from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security
sought to find out what happened. The bureau is an arm
of the State Department.

The FBI has re-interviewed some of the Blackwater
employees, and one official said that several have
refused to answer questions, citing their
constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination. Any
statements that the guards give to the FBI could be
used to bring criminal charges.

Prosecutors will have to prove that any evidence they
use in bringing charges against Blackwater employees
was uncovered without using the guards' statements to
State Department investigators.

It is not clear why the Diplomatic Security
investigators agreed to give immunity to the
bodyguards, or who authorised the move.

Copyright ) 2007 The Press Association.


                             ***

The Guardian - Oct 31, 2007
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2202152,00.html

Immunity offer to Blackwater security guards causes outrage

by Ewen MacAskill in Washington

The Bush administration faced intense criticism
yesterday after it emerged that the state department
had offered immunity to Blackwater security guards
allegedly involved in a shooting spree in Baghdad that
left 17 dead.

The immunity offer was made by state department
investigators in return for information about the
September 16 killings. The offer does not mean a trial
cannot be mounted but it would compromise any
prosecution case and practically ensure there would be
no convictions.

Blackwater, a Virginia-based company employed by the
state department, was guarding a diplomatic convoy
outside the relative safety of Baghdad's Green Zone
when it said it came under fire from insurgents. But
the Iraqi government says the security guards opened
fire without provocation.

Private security firms have until now occupied a legal
limbo, operating free from Iraqi and US law. The Iraqi
cabinet yesterday approved draft legislation to end
such impunity. But the US has no obligation to adhere
to Iraqi law.

The state department initially carried out the
investigation into the killings but, because of its
involvement, passed responsibility to the FBI and the
US justice department.

The state department spokesman, Sean McCormack,
yesterday insisted that the secretary of state,
Condoleezza Rice, still believed anyone responsible
should be prosecuted. Her view was: "If the facts lead
us to the conclusion that there are those who broke
rules, laws or regulations, they must be held to
account."

He sought to make a distinction between "limited"
immunity offered in this case and "blanket" immunity.
But the difference is probably academic because even
limited immunity could complicate any evidence
presented by a prosecution.

Henry Waxman, the Democratic chairman of the House
oversight committee which has been investigating
Blackwater, wrote to Ms Rice yesterday asking for
details of the immunity offer, including who decided
to grant it and whether she had known about it. He
said: "This rash grant of immunity was an egregious
misjudgment."

Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate
judiciary committee, said: "In this administration,
accountability goes by the boards."

In a separate development, the US congressional
investigator into billions of dollars allocated for
Iraq reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, yesterday published
a report that said a $27m US effort to help Iraq
repair the Mosul dam, "has yet to yield significant
improvements". There was a danger, he said, that the
dam could burst, flooding large parts of Iraq.