In an unexpected development during Day 2 of Marine Lt. Ilario Pantano's Article 32 pretrial proceeding, Marine Sgt. Daniel Coburn, a key witness against Pantano, was pulled from the witness stand. Coburn is in trouble of his own, for violating orders not to talk to the media about the case.
The Associated Press reports:
Marine Sgt. Daniel Coburn was testifying at a hearing in the case against 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano when the investigating officer, Maj. Mark E. Winn, read him his rights and told him he was suspected of violating orders from superior officers.Coburn's actions may have undermined his credibility, but with other evidence and testimony against Pantano on the record, that probably won't be enough to prevent a full court-martial.
Coburn left the courtroom after requesting a lawyer.
Defense lawyers had complained that Coburn had given interviews about the case to ABC News, the Daily News of New York and New York magazine even after being ordered not to do so.
2 comments:
I find it interesting that for months Pantano and his family have done nothing but run their PR machine, but nobody else can talk. How is that?
Posted by Jane Howard
The Marines are charging Pantano with murder. They are not concerned with how he handles his own defense. If he wants to blab to the media, so be it.
On the other hand, the Marines are very much concerned with how Coburn, one of their key witnesses, behaves, because his testimony is instrumental to their case against Pantano.
Posted by GaijinBiker
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