AN AMBUSHED MARINE Have a look at the following. A loyal, heroic Marine is being fed to the sharks. A letter to your congress person and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, with an info copy to your local newspaper, would help. For those who might want to help a good Marine financially he would be forever grateful. Tim Witham Legal Defense Fund c/o Robert Ferris Box 538 Jacksonville, NC 28541 SEMPER FI and perhaps the top brass in the Corps should refresh themselves as to what this wonderful expression means. Hack 14, March 16, 1998 NATION: "Criminal Injustice?" To judge from his military paper trail, Marine Sergeant Timothy Witham, a 33-year-old Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist, is the embodiment of the Corps. A veteran of Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Witham has also served with distinction in Somalia. Superlatives suffuse his service record: "Sergeant Witham’s professional achievement, initiative and loyal dedication to duty … reflected great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service," declared Lt. Colonel G.C. Cutchall in a citation issued when Witham received the Navy Achievement Medal. In a letter endorsing Witham’s application to become a Warrant Officer Candidate, Lieutenant Colonel E.M. Smith, his former commanding officer at North Carolina’s Cherry Point Marine facility, praised Witham’s "seasoned leadership … high degree of maturity … poise, understanding and tact." In addition to his military service, Witham has also excelled in joint projects with civilian agencies, according to Smith: "He has established a tremendous rapport with outside agencies such as the FBI, various ATF state bureaus, Secret Service, DEA and other police agencies." Witham’s dossier includes a certificate of appreciation from the Secret Service for his work as part of a presidential security detail at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He was also entrusted with similar security responsibilities during the 1994 Middle East peace talks and the UN’s 50th anniversary in 1995. Abrupt Change of Heart Noting that Witham is "loyal, displays sound judgment, and is exceptionally reliable and trustworthy," Lt. Col. Smith recommended his application "with utmost enthusiasm." Witham’s current commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel J.G. Ayala of Marine Wing Support Squadron 271, offered a similarly glowing endorsement last September. "[Witham] leads from the front. Superior knowledge of the EOD field. Can handle any mission and looks forward to challenging assignments," declared Ayala. "[Witham is a] true asset to his section and to this Squadron. His knowledge and expertise would make [him] an outstanding candidate for the warrant officer program." However, Ayala’s opinion of Witham underwent an abrupt change just a few weeks later. "SSgt. [Staff Sergeant] Witham has proven that he is a threat to the good order and discipline of the Squadron and the U.S. Marine Corps," insisted Ayala in an October 17th memo. Ayala’s radical reevaluation of Witham followed the October 16th arrest of Witham and five other Marines as a result of "Operation Longfuse," a 16-month joint sting operation conducted by the FBI, the ATF, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Witham found himself accused of "transporting a loaded weapon on base; conspiracy to commit larceny; larceny of military explosives, equipment, and firearms; wrongful disposition of military property; receiving stolen property; [and] federal firearms and explosives violations under the Federal Assimilated Crimes Act." Upon his arrest, Witham was designated "a flight risk," which led Ayala to support "continued confinement" until his pre-trial hearing — which turned out to be a 79-day jail term. "Lesser forms of restraint would be inadequate to insure that he would appear at his hearing and court-martial," insisted Ayala. "This is not the first time that SSgt Witham has been involved in this type of incident." Curiously, in the same memo, Ayala noted that there had never been any previous disciplinary action taken against Witham — which would suggest a serious delinquency on the part of his superiors if Witham had indeed been "involved in this type of incident" on earlier occasions. Just as curious is the fact that Form 1070 in Sergeant Witham’s personal file, which lists "offenses and punishments," is entirely blank. Literally in a single day, a model Marine with an unblemished record was transmuted into a felonious arms smuggler whose motivations were equal parts greed and radical "anti-government" views. Federal and military investigators have yet to find a particle of material evidence to prove that Sergeant Witham is the criminal they describe; their case depends entirely upon the testimony of three eminently impeachable witnesses — a twice-convicted perjurer, a civilian ex-convict, and an ex-Marine of dubious integrity who served as a "confidential informant" for the feds during the undercover operation. Two of the witnesses peddled their testimony against Witham in exchange for lighter sentences. The "confidential informant" made an even better deal: He arranged for complete immunity before beginning his undercover work, and since October 17th he has been taken into the witness protection program. Last September, Staff Sergeant Timothy Witham was chosen from 20 very qualified candidates to become a Warrant Officer; now, after spending 79 days in jail, he faces the prospect of an April court-martial. Robert Ferris, a retired Marine officer and former commanding officer to Witham, told The New American: "I spent 24 years in the military, in the Army and Marines, and I’ve never seen an abuse of power to compare with the treatment of this young man. He should be at Quantico going to school to become a Warrant Officer, and yet he’s exhausting his life savings and seeing his career destroyed because the feds need to convict somebody to make a political point." The "political point" being made in the case of Tim Witham appears to be that mere suspicion of "anti-government" views is enough to destroy the career of a model military man. Extremist Spin The "Longfuse" investigation cast a net across several states, pursuing leads as far south as North Carolina and as far north as Massachusetts. Fourteen suspects were arrested on October 17th — eight civilians and six Marines, including four stationed at Camp Lejune. Over the course of a year and a half, undercover investigators, focusing their efforts on gun shows, military bases, and gun dealers throughout the southeast, had purchased an estimated 150 pounds of plastic explosives, grenades, grenade launchers, shoulder-launched rockets, a handful of anti-personnel mines, and more than 50 machine guns. In the post-Oklahoma City bombing environment, the preferred spin of federal investigators was entirely predictable. Robert Ferris, who is now Witham’s next-door neighbor, was a witness on Witham’s behalf at two preliminary hearings: the "Magistrate’s hearing," which is held to determine if pre-trial confinement is necessary; and an "Article 32" hearing, which is the military equivalent of a grand jury. "The first thing out of the mouth of [military prosecutor] Captain [Michael] Richardson was ‘Ruby Ridge,’" Ferris recalls. "They insisted that Tim was part of a ring of anti-government radicals who were stealing weapons and had sworn not to let the feds take them alive." Thus was Witham identified as part of the ubiquitous menace of "right-wing extremism." Initial press coverage of the "Operation Longfuse" arrests played up the alleged "anti-government" angle, and the feds did their best to abet such speculation — at least in the beginning. "Federal agents seized truckloads of stolen military and civilian weapons yesterday in an expanding investigation into the theft and sale of machine guns, grenades and plastic explosives," screamed the October 18th Baltimore Sun. The paper reported that an anonymous investigator portentously warned that some of the civilian suspects arrested "have ties — potentially — to militia groups." The Raleigh, North Carolina News and Observer carried a similar warning: "A top official said he could not rule out the possibility that anti-government extremists were connected to the theft of military ordnance from Camp Lejune." "These are weapons that are of military use, very lethal weapons, and they were weapons that were in the wrong hands," fretted Treasury Department spokesman Jim Johnson at an October 17th press conference. "That’s the sort of thing all citizens should be concerned about." Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon added the disturbing observation that "C-4 was taken, which is highly dangerous and used by terrorists." For those who missed the message, the Dallas Morning News offered a useful summary: "Concern over the theft of high explosives has increased in military circles along with a broader anxiety about domestic terrorism, especially in the aftermath of incidents such as the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building." The "right-wing menace" is the media’s favorite enemy, and ATF officials were careful to drop tantalizing hints that "Operation Longfuse" had uncovered something big. "You could outfit a small army with what we’ve recovered," claimed ATF special agent Mark Logan. ATF spokesman Earl Woodham primed the press for further dramatic developments: "The investigation has really just begun. It’s like we just hit the base of an oak tree, and if we follow it up, we may find that it branches out very wide." Dubious Informant The man who planted the acorn that grew into the ATF’s "oak tree" is a former Marine sergeant who had served as an EOD specialist with several of the arrested suspects. In early 1996, this sergeant reportedly instigated "Operation Longfuse" when he approached authorities at Camp Lejune to warn them that weapons and explosives were being stolen and sold at gun shows and gun dealerships. That his motives weren’t purely idealistic is suggested by the fact that he was careful to get complete immunity before taking an assignment as a paid confidential informant (CI). For the next year and a half, the CI worked numerous stings against Marines and civilian gun enthusiasts. The feds deployed other undercover assets as part of "Longfuse" and tried to tailor stings to the psychology of the suspects. In the case of Thomas Crawford, a Marine captain stationed in Massachusetts who was among those arrested on October 17th, the undercover agents reportedly posed as intelligence specialists who sought arms and explosives for deniable missions in Latin America — "an Oliver North-type black ops project," according to one source. In the case of a second Marine sergeant who was caught in the sting — and who became the second witness against Witham — undercover feds reportedly posed as organized crime figures. "[The second Marine sergeant] wasn’t going anywhere in the Corps," Sergeant Witham asserted to The New American. "He was consistently denied promotions; you might say he has more ‘pass-overs’ than a satellite. I suspect that he had a real need to feel important, and the undercover agents were happy to feed his ego." From information made available during legal discovery, Witham relates, the second Marine "got involved in long drunken discussions with the undercover people in which he claimed to have been involved in all kinds of crimes, including at least one murder. He supposedly helped kill a guy and then disposed of the body with a woodchipper. Strangely, though, the prosecution didn’t follow up on that particular story." The feds were willing to give credence to the second Marine’s alcohol-aided claims about Witham, which were covertly recorded. "They initially used those drunken boasts to make three charges against me," Witham recalls. "The first was that I had been involved in the theft of washing machines, dryers, and other appliances, as well as drywall and other things of that nature. The second was that I had been involved in forgery, and the third was that I had been involved in the theft of explosives. The prosecution dropped the first two charges but has stuck with the third." How credible is the second Marine as a witness? According to local press reports in North Carolina, he has twice pled guilty to perjury. Furthermore, he faced accumulated prison terms of up to 380 years on charges arising from "Longfuse" and reportedly made a deal with the prosecution in which he could peddle his testimony against others for a total of 12 years in prison — with the possibility of parole after four. The third witness against Witham has served a prison term on firearms-related charges. He also reportedly made a deal for his testimony in a previous weapons theft case involving Army personnel. Casting a Large Net Given his own solid military background, and the dubious background of the witnesses against him, how did Sergeant Witham get entangled in this mess? Attorney Vaughn Taylor, who has acted as Witham’s legal counsel, believes that the sergeant was "caught in a very large casting net" thrown out by federal investigators. "There were two things that the government found very significant," Taylor related to The New American. "First, they were looking for people who had worked with Captain Crawford in EOD; secondly, they were looking at gun shows and people who did business at them. Of course, these two facts don’t add up to a case, particularly when the suspect is someone like Tim Witham. As far as his military career is concerned, Witham all but walks on water; it’s impossible to imagine someone farther from the person described in these charges." Nor were the feds able to develop a material case against Witham. On October 17th, agents from the ATF and NCIS conducted a search of Witham’s home in Jacksonville, North Carolina; this included an examination of an adjoining building from which Witham, a federally licensed firearms dealer, sold guns and related merchandise. The October 20th "Report of Investigation" filed by special agent John S. Corpening of the ATF’s Wilmington, North Carolina field office noted that "no machine guns or prohibited weapons were found" during the search of Witham’s home and business. The report did note that Witham was in possession of a stolen Ruger pistol. The gun had been brought to Witham for repairs; when he ran a check on its serial number, he learned that it was a stolen weapon, and informed the ATF. As instructed, Witham logged the stolen weapon in his Acquisition and Disposition record, and held it on behalf of the ATF. "Strangely, the ATF’s search of my home was conducted, in part, by students of mine," Witham informed The New American. "For about three years I’ve been involved with some of them in a drug interdiction program, so they knew me well before all of this." (Witham has also helped train ATF and FBI personnel in explosives disposal.) Despite the effort on the part of NCIS investigators and Marine officials to depict Witham as a danger to public order, the ATF did not seek revocation of his federal firearms license. "Even though I was in jail for 79 days and face court-martial, my firearms license is still active, and my inventory is still intact," observes Witham. "If I had done all of the things I’ve been accused of, or any of them, would the ATF have left me with my weapons?" On December 19th, Major Robert Brubaker, the Judge Advocate General investigator who presided over Witham’s "Article 32" investigation, filed his report, which once again noted Witham’s sterling record and the poverty of the case against him. "Evidence was presented demonstrating that SSgt. Witham’s military character up to this point has been excellent," Brubaker pointed out. "He has a clean, in fact quite distinguished, service record." For a man identified as a "flight risk," Witham displayed little inclination to escape when presented with the opportunity. Brubaker noted that the "chasers" — the MPs assigned to watch Witham — were quite inept. "To say that their supervision of their charge was loose would be an understatement," reported the investigator. "I observed a couple of occasions when SSgt. Witham was alone without the chasers in sight. There was one occasion when SSgt. Witham himself tracked down his chasers to tell them he was going somewhere and they needed to be with him. To me, this rather strongly cuts against any argument that he is a serious flight risk." While Brubaker stated that "there probably is sufficient evidence to send the case to a court-martial," he also took note of the fact that "the government seems to be relying quite heavily on the statements of two witnesses of questionable integrity" to make its case against Witham. (Since that time a third witness has also offered to testify against Witham.) Abuse of Power It is possible that Witham’s impeccable service record belies his involvement in the felonious theft of military weapons and explosives. However, it is at least as likely that he is merely an exemplary serviceman who has been traduced by perjured statements offered in exchange for special prosecutorial considerations. His case serves as a precautionary tale about the federal government’s increasing reliance upon paid undercover informants, especially in firearms-related investigations and other forms of covert operations against the "radical right." In his book Deadly Force, law enforcement analyst Carsen Stroud points out that in 1994 the Justice Department budgeted $100 million to spend on confidential informants, many of them involved in "quasi-criminal or actively criminal" enterprises. Also significant is the potential impact on military morale should Sergeant Witham prove to be the innocent victim of a politically motivated abuse of prosecutorial power. "I love the Marine Corps and have great respect for our federal law enforcement agencies," declares Robert Ferris, who was himself a respected field-grade commander. "But what is being done to Tim is simply wrong; it’s an abuse of power by corrupt and ambitious people who are, by God, going to get a conviction, whatever it takes to do so. In nearly a quarter-century of military service I’ve never seen a comparable abuse of power." —William Norman Grigg *************************************** Visit our home page at: http://www.hackworth.com Sign up for the free weekly Defending America newsletter on our website Snail mail to: P.O. Box 430 Whitefish, MT. 59937