The Accused (29 page)

“Now, Mr. Chambers, we know that a near-tragic kidnapping of the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary Kilmer, took place down in the Yucatán. We're all very pleased—overjoyed—that his release was secured, and a few of the kidnappers were killed. And we can also thank the Mexican police—the federal police—and the Mexican government for their cooperation in assisting us in that successful operation.

“But then we have this Chacmool incident not long after. In another part of the Yucatán many, many miles away. Here's my question, Mr. Chambers. Is there one shred of evidence—one little, teenytiny piece of evidence of any kind, in this very thick hearing transcript, from any witness who testified—that shows that the men in that little house in Chacmool could be conclusively tied back to the kidnapping of Secretary Kilmer?”

Will saw the avenue of response closing before him. The senator was, again, asking questions he knew the attorney could not answer. The Department of Defense had required him not to go into any matters involving the kidnapping of the secretary. That had been deemed classified information, and he had been unable to solicit information even from his own client. Purdy had walked Will out on a gangplank. He now would begin sawing it off.

46

W
ILL WAS STRUGGLING TO EXPLAIN
the DOD restrictions. “Senator Purdy, I think it would be useful if I explained the restrictions placed on the lawyers in the Article 32 hearing. Because of classified information—”

“Well now, Mr. Chambers, I'm very sorry that you can't answer. You don't seem to be responding to the questions that are being asked of you. Now please answer this question. Is there anything in this transcript of the Article 32 hearing—any shred of evidence at all—that anybody in that house in Chacmool had anything to do with the kidnapping of Secretary Kilmer?”

“As I was trying to explain, Senator, the Department of Defense imposed a gag order on all the attorneys in the Article 32 hearing. We were prohibited—”

“Mr. Chambers, you are not answering this question—”

“Senator Purdy, your question doesn't make any sense because it presumes this transcript—this Article 32 hearing—dealt in some way with what went on before the Chacmool shootings. But we were
prohibited
by the Department of Defense from going into the connection between Chacmool and the kidnapping of Secretary Kilmer because that connection was deemed to be classified information.”

Will had managed to finally get it out, and on the record. But he wasn't at all confident it would make any difference. This subcommittee hearing, he was convinced, was not searching for truth. It was merely a platform for Senator Purdy to bluff, bellow, and grandstand.

“Mr. Chambers,” the chairman continued with a smirk, “I will take that as an answer of
no
to my question.”

Purdy then flipped to a page in the transcript, studied it for a second, and looked up and smiled. Then he continued.

“Tell us about BATCOM, Mr. Chambers.”

“I'm sorry. Could you repeat that question?” Will asked.

“Certainly.” Now the senator's voice had become slow, deliberate, and self-confident.

“Here is my question,” he continued. “Would you tell this committee everything you know about BATCOM?”

Will thought for a few seconds. He knew the name. Back in Marlowe's case—where was the reference…who had mentioned it?

“The name is familiar. If you could be more specific…”

“I'll be glad to accommodate you, Mr. Chambers. Turn to page 179 of the transcript. This is the testimony of one of the members of Colonel Marlowe's unit. A combat soldier by the name of Thompson. Right there, in the course of his testimony, he gives the name of this small, select special operations unit that the colonel was leading as ‘BATCOM.' My question is this—what can you tell this subcommittee about BATCOM? Because it's a military designation unknown to me. And I would imagine it's unknown to almost every other senator who has any responsibility in any of the military oversight committees. What is BATCOM, Mr. Chambers? Is this a specialized, covert, paramilitary assassination group?”

“I'm afraid I can't answer your question,” Will responded. “I don't know what BATCOM is—or any of the details surrounding that designation. I only know that the information happened to slip out in the testimony of one witness. It probably should have been stricken from the record—”

“But it wasn't stricken. It was not,” Purdy said, his voice rising. “It's right there in the record. And I believe that the United States Senate has the jurisdiction and the authority to demand answers about a new, experimental, controversial special operations group being formed. Don't you agree that the United States Senate—and the American people—ought to know about this?”

“That's a decision that this subcommittee, the Congress, and perhaps even the courts will ultimately have to iron out,” Will answered. “That is not my decision to make.”

“But I am right, am I not, in saying that your client, Colonel Caleb Marlowe, knows, perhaps better than any other potential witness, what BATCOM is—when it was created—who gave the order for its creation—and what its mission is. Am I not correct?”

“Senator, again you're asking me to reveal attorney–client communications. Which I cannot—and will not—do.”

“Oh no,” the senator said, raising his finger and wagging it in the direction of Will. “This is not privileged communication. This is a matter having to do with an answer given by a witness in the Article 32 hearing. The letter of understanding we sent to your office clearly indicates that any matter within the Article 32 hearing record was fair game for questioning. Now, I'm going to ask you again—in your opinion, what do you think Colonel Caleb Marlowe knows about BATCOM?”

“I'm not able to speculate about what my client's knowledge may be. And even if I were, I'd be speculating based on information he provided to me and inferences I have drawn from that information. That's attorney–client privileged—and I will not budge on that.”

“Mr. Chambers, a little while ago I had to remind you about the power this body possesses, the power of contempt of Congress. I will not hesitate to use the authority vested in this deliberative body.”

There was quiet for a few seconds. And then Will answered.

“Senator Purdy, respectfully, I understand the authority for contempt. And it does not intimidate me. And it does not change my mind. And you, of all people, should know I do not fear the possibility of contempt charges—as long as I am confident I am correct. And, Senator—I know that I am correct.”

Purdy glared at the attorney, sizing up his resolve.

But Senator Jason Bell Purdy knew something about the lawyer from Monroeville, Virginia, that most of the audience, and all the other senators on the subcommittee, did not.

The more abusive he might become, the more fixed and intractable Will Chambers' devotion to his cause would become.

In the end, the senator knew he would gain no advantage by using the contempt powers of Congress against Will. Instead, Purdy would resort to the age-old strategy of a senator in a subcommittee—under the guise of asking a question, make a speech—and preferably one at the expense of the witness.

“Well, Mr. Chambers, this subcommittee will have to consider its awesome power of contempt—and whether we are going to use it in response to your defiance this morning. But until that day, let me conclude my questioning with this.”

With that, Purdy took the papers in front of him, tapping them briskly on the surface in front of him to square the corners as he prepared his final volley.

“Your client—Colonel Caleb Marlowe—has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court—the judicial arm of the UN—for the killings that took place in Chacmool, Mexico, is that correct?”

Will agreed. But he knew that this was not the chairman's real question.

“And do you think that the reputation of the United States of America—a reputation that has been so tarnished and torn abroad, among the nations of the world—our reputation, which, for reasons that go beyond the scope of this hearing, has been held in contempt by too many nations for too long—do you believe that the good will and the honor of America is well served—do you think that it will help our American citizens hold their heads high—when we realize that the International Criminal Court has charged one of our highly decorated military officers with unspeakable crimes of brutality and murder?”

As Purdy finished his remarks his voice had risen to such a level that it filled the subcommittee hearing room and caused the microphone to shriek with feedback for a moment. He was wagging his finger directly at Will Chambers.

The attorney gathered his thoughts for a moment and then attempted to answer.

“Senator, first let me say, I'm not quite sure how to answer your question,” he began. But he paused slightly, and that was all Purdy needed.

“I'm sure you're not. I'm sure you don't know how to answer that question,” Purdy bellowed. “But I'm sure the American people know how to answer it—I'm sure that the other members of this subcommittee know how to answer it. And as we investigate the murders that took place in that little village in Mexico—and the abuse resulting from an ill-conceived administration policy of allowing foreign assassinations—I believe that we, here in Congress, will have the courage to do a better job of policing the actions of our military forces in these secret, covert special operations attacks in otherwise peaceful nations like Mexico—attacks that look more like the shoot-'em-up at the OK
Corral than a restrained response in protection of our national interests.”

The questioning then shifted to the ranking member of the subcommittee. He glanced over at Purdy, who avoided his look. The senator looked down for a second, then looked up at Will Chambers.

“Mr. Chairman, I'm sure that you did not mean to cut Mr. Chambers off in his answer to your question. I'm sure that was not your intent. So in the interest of fairness, perhaps I could offer our witness an opportunity to answer the question. Mr. Chambers, would you like an opportunity to finish your responses—if you have anything else to say?”

And so the attorney began his full response—arguing that Senator Purdy had committed the same mistake that flawed human nature is so prone to—he had already assumed Colonel Marlowe's guilt and had then wondered at the effect it might have on America's reputation around the world.

Will argued that the protection of our national honor—and fear of slander in the eyes of the world—should never justify a betrayal of our pursuit of justice, fairness, and truth.

The only alternative to that, he noted, would be to allow America to be blackmailed by international courts and global institutions whenever they might bring unfounded—and politically motivated—charges against our military officers, or even our political leaders and ordinary American citizens as well.

“Thank you for those exceptional remarks,” the ranking senator said to Will after he had concluded.

But the reporters were no longer there to listen. The cameramen and the newspeople had already gathered up their notepads, laptops, and video cameras and had fled the hearing room en route to their deadlines.

As Will had been giving his response, Senator Purdy had already turned to his staff in the row behind him and was engaged in a conversation with them—giving all the appearance of being oblivious to the attorney's answer to his inflated question.

The photos in the next morning's newspapers, and the image clips of the television news services, would all display some version of Purdy's final question—complete with finger-wagging in the direction of a stone-faced Will Chambers.

47

T
HE MEETING WAS CONVENED IN
the Situation Room at 10
A.M
. sharp. In attendance was the Vice President of the United States, who chaired the meeting—along with Charles Keaton, White House Chief of Staff; John McCarthy, the Assistant Secretary of Defense; Chief White House Legal Counsel, Harold Birnbaum; and National Security Advisor Eloise Lorton.

The vice president seemed calm. But to those who knew him, he was clearly perturbed and anxious for answers. His hands were folded in front of him but his thumbs were opening and closing.

“How did we find ourselves in this kind of a position? That's really where I want to start,” he asked. Then he turned to the chief of staff. “Charlie, as congressional liaison you normally keep a very tight rein on what's going on in your office. Why didn't your people see this thing coming?”

“Mr. Vice President, we had one small blip on the radar. My congressional people assured me this thing was never going to raise its head. We had spoken to Senator O'Brien's office directly, and he had given me the same assurance some time ago. That was the end of it. But you know, we cannot be put in the position where we have to run down every rabbit trail when a rumor starts forming. I really do believe, Mr. Vice President, that we ran this one down, found it was a dry hole, and that's where things were left.”