Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
safeguardourconsititution (APF) has an affidavit from LTG T. McInerney in support of LTC Lakin’s discovery request.
Lawyers interested in the legal merits of the issue will likely find themselves dissatisfied with the affidavit. It is a combination of justification for LTC Lakin’s contumacy and reasons why the discovery should be granted. There is no comment on the general failure of most of the rest of the officer corps in continuing to obey unlawful orders. They have not posted the request or motion in support of any request. Once again failing to give full disclosure.
The affidavit appears to also justify the discovery request as a need for public disclosure. This would be IMHO an abuse of process. The purpose of discovery in a criminal proceeding is to aid the defense, not to aid public disclosure for disclosures sake.
The affidavit states that the “military MUST have confidence in the Commander in Chief.” There is however no evidence to suggest the military doesn’t, merely some individual members.
Paragraph 4., indicates the affiant’s understanding of why LTC Lakin is wrong.
I have requested the PAO make copies of the motions available on the 2d to those wishing to review or have a copy. That request is “pending” is the best I can say.
In regard to the affiant:
Retired Air Force General Suggests Strip Searching All Young Muslim Men
“We have to use profiling. And I mean be very serious and harsh about the profiling,” said retired Lt. General Tom McInerney of the U.S. Air Force, suggesting that the United States adopt the profiling guidelines of Israel in order to protect ourselves from an airline attack. “If you are an 18 to 28-year-old Muslim man then you should be strip searched,” he said. If we don’t do that, we’re going to lose an airliner, he explained.
The Pentagon’s military analyst program
In April 2008 documents obtained by New York Times reporter David Barstow revealed that McInerney had been recruited as one of over 75 retired military officers involved in the Pentagon military analyst program. Participants appeared on television and radio news shows as military analysts, and/or penned newspaper op/ed columns. The program was launched in early 2002 by then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Victoria Clarke. The idea was to recruit "key influentials" to help sell a wary public on "a possible Iraq invasion."