The Accused (28 page)

The chairman talked about the unfettered right of special operations military personnel, in conjunction with the CIA, to assassinate perceived terrorists at will in any country of the world. This, he pointed out, was a direct result of, and an expansion from, the directive issued a few years before from the White House—an executive order lifting the prior ban against foreign assassinations.

Further, Purdy emphasized the point that special operations units were being developed without full disclosure to the subcommittees in Congress that had jurisdiction and oversight regarding military spending.

But it was his final comment that pushed all the buttons, rang all the bells, and sounded all the alarms of Will's mental detector system.

“The threat, I believe, that these hearings will reveal is the development by the American military, with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps and the Central Intelligence Agency, of a new and startling breed of warrior. America has developed an experimental model of soldier–spies—killing specialists who can metamorphose like chameleons from full military combat status into civilian intelligence status at the blink of an eye. We will see that the shocking incident down in Chacmool, Mexico, may be just the beginning of murders, assassinations, and political coups orchestrated with American taxpayer money, and armed with the near-limitless power of the American government.”

Purdy turned his head ever so slightly toward the cameras.

“As citizens of the twenty-first century, perhaps it's time not only to harbor fears for our homeland's security, but also to reflect faith in universal standards of human rights as well.”

The first witness was Assistant White House Counsel Larry Bracken.

Purdy began by sparring on a procedural point—that his letter had requested that Chief White House Legal Counsel Harold Birnbaum attend the hearing and give testimony, not his assistant. Bracken explained that Birnbaum had a conflict, but if there were any questions he could not answer, his superior would probably be happy to answer them in writing at a later date.

Then the chairman moved into the real substance—the fact that the White House was following the new rule vacating the prohibition against foreign assassinations. The ban on political assassinations had been arguably reversed by President George W. Bush in the war on terrorism, at least regarding enumerated enemy combatants. Purdy pushed the point—demanding that Bracken admit that the order permitting foreign assassinations made the incident at Chacmool possible. The witness saw the risk in that admission—but couldn't avoid making the concession.

“Yes, Senator,” Bracken answered, “that executive order—in an indirect sense—did permit the attempt to kill the cell of terrorists at Chacmool.”

The next witness was Major General Harlan Koeptke—Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Projects. Purdy questioned Koeptke about the most recent budget document approved as a result of the work of the Senate Military Oversight Committee during the previous October.

The senator wanted to know whether the military budget document revealed any appropriations for experimental special operation units that included features of both military special ops and CIA-type covert operations.

Koeptke straightened his shoulders and answered sharply, “Your office delineated the scope of my testimony in advance—and this is not an area we agreed to discuss in this hearing.”

But Purdy kept pushing—demanding information about budget allocations for a “unique paramilitary assassination group funded by American taxpayer money.”

Finally, the general drew the line in the sand. Refusing to answer any further questions on the grounds that Purdy's committee lacked the usual safeguards utilized in Senate intelligence committees, Koeptke said that he would answer no further questions until he had consulted with the Secretary of Defense.

When General Koeptke was released, he stood up quickly, wheeled around, and walked straight out of the hearing room, disregarding a few raised hands from reporters who wished to get a statement from him outside.

The table was void of witnesses when Purdy called Will Chambers to the front.

The attorney removed his file from his briefcase, placed it on the green felt tablecloth, and sat down in his chair. He folded his hands in front of him, smiling directly at Senator Jason Bell Purdy.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the chairman began, glancing at his watch, “this next witness is attorney Will Chambers from Monroeville, Virginia. Mr. Chambers has been called to this hearing because he was civilian legal counsel to Colonel Caleb Marlowe, who was investigated by the United States military relating to the incident at Chacmool, Mexico. But before we begin with attorney Chambers, I do have an important announcement.”

The other members of the committee turned and studied Purdy intently. The room fell silent.

“My staff…” Purdy continued—and as he spoke, his staff rose from their seats behind him with large stacks of paper in their hands—“my staff is going to place on the information table a press release from my office announcing the news we have just received. This is very troubling news. Matters of great importance—that I think all Americans should know about. The International Criminal Court in The Hague—the permanent war-crimes tribunal of the United Nations—has formally charged Colonel Caleb Marlowe, United States Marine Corps, retired, with war crimes in connection with the operation in Chacmool.”

The hearing room erupted in confusion. The journalists—and several members of the public—began elbowing their way—rushing over to the information table, where Senator Purdy's staff was stacking copies of the press release. The senator glanced again at his watch. His office had given an informal assurance to the White House that there would be no release of information about the ICC charges until after the White House had issued a statement. That statement was to come in fifteen minutes. But Purdy had decided to beat them to the punch.

As Will studied the contrived theatrics of the moment, he knew there would be no referees in this match. No rules of proper procedure. And he also knew one other thing.

This was no longer just an unrefereed boxing match. Purdy clearly had the intent of turning it into something fit for the World Wrestling Federation.

45

“M
R
. C
HAMBERS, YOU WERE CIVILIAN
defense counsel for Colonel Caleb Marlowe, United States Marine Corps, now retired, regarding his military defense at the Quantico proceeding, is that correct?”

“Senator Purdy, that's correct.”

“Now, Colonel Marlowe never did testify at that Article 32 hearing. Is that correct?”

“He did not testify—as was his legal right. He relied on that right.”

“So it appears that you—as his defense counsel, Mr. Chambers—you may be one of the few people who really knows what was going on in Colonel Marlowe's mind at the time he gave the order to his unit to fire upon a small, civilian house outside the village of Chacmool, which resulted in the death of a mother, her two small children, and the father of those children—who was also an agent with the Central Intelligence Agency.”

“Is that a question, Senator?”

The chairman straightened up a bit and clicked his teeth together slightly, then dug in.

“Is it a fact that you may be one of the few people who really knows Colonel Marlowe's version of that tragic slaughter of four individuals down in Chacmool?”

“I find it difficult to respond to a question that attaches the word ‘slaughter' to what happened there.”

“Well—now let's just look at it this way, Mr. Attorney. If you and your wife had two little children and you were sitting at the kitchen table having dinner, and an officer from the United States military ordered his troops to surround your house and fire on it until all four of you were dead—wouldn't you call that a slaughter?”

“Well,” Will said with a smile, “if I were dead, I don't think I'd be calling it anything. But yes, your hypothetical certainly sounds like a slaughter. The difference between your scenario and what happened at Chacmool is that I wouldn't be harboring terrorists. Nor would I have been kidnapped by terrorists, tied to a chair, and used as bait in a trap set for the military.”

“Is that what Colonel Marlowe told you happened?”

Purdy studied Will and saw the ire flashing in his eyes.

The attorney clenched his jaw and took a second to regain his composure before he answered.

“Senator Purdy, I do believe that you understand exactly why that question is entirely objectionable. Why I can't answer it. And why it directly violates the understanding I had with your office—”

“Mr. Chambers, do you realize that we have contempt powers in this subcommittee hearing?”

“I'm sure you have that authority, Senator,” Will responded calmly. “But the real question is whether I am in contempt of Congress for failing to answer your question. And the answer to that is—I am
not
. As I was trying to say before you cut me off—”

“Mr. Chambers,” Purdy said, interrupting him again, “I just want to make sure I'm hearing correctly. You're refusing to answer the question about what you do or do not know about your client's case.”

“That was not the question. You wanted to know what my client told me. That's attorney–client privileged. That is
exactly
why it violates our letter of understanding.”

And with that Will pulled out of his file the letter from Senator Purdy's office, signed by the legal counsel for the subcommittee, and setting forth the scope, and limitations, of the questions that would be asked during the hearing.

He lifted the letter up—high enough so the reporters and the audience could see it in his right hand.

“This letter that your office issued to me—pursuant to the specific understanding we reached—said this, and I quote—”

“Mr. Chambers, I'm the one asking the questions here—”

“First bullet point,” Will said, plowing ahead, ‘your attorney–client privilege with your client, Colonel Marlowe, will be protected, and no questions will be asked regarding confidential attorney–client communications.'”

“Mr. Chambers, no one on this panel disputes the right of you, and your client, to demand…to insist on relying on the technical legal rules—the legal loopholes, if you will—of attorney–client privilege. And we have agreed to honor that. But I want to hear from you what you think went on down there at Chacmool.”

“It is my belief, Senator, that Colonel Marlowe and his small unit were led into a trap—that AAJ terrorists, possibly in connection with other individuals—possibly Mexican nationals—set up this incident so that four innocent people would be killed. And so that the United States military would be embarrassed. That's where I believe the truth lies here.”

“An experienced, seasoned combat veteran like Colonel Marlowe. And his band of highly trained special operations combat veterans.” Purdy's tone was sarcastic. “Those folks were just plumb tricked—led into a deadly trap by a ragtag band of Islamic extremists. That's what you want us to believe? Do you have one shred of evidence that backs that up—one that you can share with us today?”

That was when Will understood, better than anyone else in that room, that Jason Bell Purdy had him in a stranglehold. The senator was quietly gloating, like a schoolyard bully.

After an interminable silence, the attorney answered.

“Senator, I cannot share Colonel Marlowe's version of the events that day—because it was given to me in the course of attorney–client communication. And if I were to share that with you, which I earnestly wish I could, it would—as you and your legal staff well know—open up the door…it would entirely waive the attorney–client privilege as to everything else in this case. And that I am not prepared to do.”

“So your answer is—you cannot give us one shred of evidence. Right? Is that right?”

“I'm afraid that's correct,” Will said reluctantly.

He could see Purdy's game now, with crystal clarity. The Senator was asking the most damaging questions possible, couched deliberately in terms such that Will could not answer them without violating the agreement as to the scope of his testimony. Purdy was hoping that the lawyer's inability to answer the questions would create a deceptive impression that the Chacmool incident had been a military debacle, and that Colonel Marlowe was a military officer out of control—fueled
by an administration's executive order permitting the indiscriminate killing of terrorists on an ad hoc basis.

“Now, Mr. Chambers,” the chairman continued. “We have agreed to try to limit your testimony to the matters in the Article 32 hearing. And a record was made of that hearing, right?”

“Yes, a transcript was made of the testimony in that hearing.”

“Do you have a copy of that transcript with you?”

“I do,” Will responded, setting the thick set of papers in front of him.

One of Purdy's staffers, from behind him, quickly handed the chairman a copy also.