Walter B. Jones: “today is the third day of the Article 32 hearing for Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano, a Marine who I have talked about…”

“today is the third day of the Article 32 hearing for Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano, a Marine who I have talked about here on the floor at great length and who has served our Nation bravely in both gulf wars. In an action of self-defense a year ago in Iraq, Lieutenant Pantano made a split-second, battlefield decision to shoot two Iraqi insurgents who refused to follow his orders to stop their movement towards him. Two and a half months later, a sergeant under his command, who never even saw the shooting and who was earlier demoted for his lack of leadership abilities, accused him of murder. Because of that, Lieutenant Pantano today continues to face an Article 32 hearing where a hearing officer will determine whether he will face a court martial for two counts of premeditated murder. Last night I described how yesterday's hearing came to a halt when it became apparent that Lieutenant Pantano's accuser, Sergeant Coburn, had recently violated his superior's orders not to give an interview on this case. The defense showed that he was interviewed for various media outlets, including last week's New York Magazine cover story on the case. In fact, Sergeant Coburn may now face charges for disobeying orders, and he left the stand yesterday after the hearing officer recommended he get an attorney. Madam Speaker, it seems obvious that this man's testimony cannot be considered credible.…”