Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt

How did four highly decorated American soldiers become prisoners of war in their own country? This series re-examines the US Department of Justice’s controversial prosecution following a controversial battle in Baghdad. Why did the DOJ hold multiple trials for over a decade? Was the DOJ seeking justice? Or playing politics?Support the Show.

On September 10, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld presents his vision for a new type of military that relies heavily on privatization. Rumsfeld claims that he is not trying to destroy the Pentagon, but “save it from itself.” At the exact time that he is giving his speech, four radical Jihadists are checking in to the Marriot Hotel in Herndon, VA. Less than 24 hours after giving his speech, Donald Rumsfeld would no longer be talking about war in the figurative sense.&nb...

Mike and Gina introduce the men of Blackwater’s Raven 23: Dustin Heard, a former US Marine from Maryville, Tennessee; former US Marine Evan Liberty from Rochester, New Hampshire; US Army veteran Paul Slough of Sanger, Texas; and Nicholas Slatten, a veteran of the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, of Sparta, Tennessee.Their families and military comrades discuss the characters and reputations of these small town enlistees, and what motivated them to join the fight after the Sept. 11, 2001, hij...

Gina and Mike explain how US Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld put in motion the growing influence and use of military contractors the day before the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks on New York and Washington DC.This episode introduces Judge Royce Lamberth, chief of the US District Court for the Washington DC circuit and head of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) that allowed law enforcement to spy on US citizens. Meanwhile, Dustin, Evan, Paul and Nick deployed ...

In this episode, Iraq slips closer toward civil war as the US occupation enters the fourth year of a mission that President George W Bush declared “accomplished” three years earlier. The U.S. is having trouble recruiting soldiers to staff the occupation, so the government hires nearly 200,000 military contractors to fill the recruitment gap. With their tours ending, Dustin, Evan, Paul and Nick consider their options in the private sector, and each decide to rejoin the fight as contr...

In this episode, Gina and Mike recreate the events of Sept. 16, 2007 based on the US government’s own evidence, showing that the Raven 23 convoy took incoming gunfire in Nisour Square from AK-47 wielding insurgents.They interview members of the 19-man Raven 23 team about their minute-by-minute experiences during the Nisour Square incident and its aftermath.And examine the transcripts of the Iraqi witness statements to deconstruct why the body count and survivor accounts changed so wildly in t...

Clint Lorance served as a First Lieutenant in the US Army in Afghanistan when he was selected for the dangerous job of Platoon leader in June, 2012. The following month, Clint ordered HIs men to defend themselves against three Taliban soldiers speeding towards them on motorcyles. Rather than receiving a commendation, he was unjustly found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He was confined in the United States Disciplinary Ba...

In this episode, we’re introduced to: Nick Poulos, Blackwater's detail leader; TJ Hill, a mechanic working for Blackwater, and Keith George, Blackwater's Iraq protection leader. Each of the men recounts his memories of the Nisour Square Incident, and where the government’s inquiry went off track.And Gina sits down with former Raven 23 vehicle commander Tommy Vargas, who has recently found long-buried information Support the Show.

Gina and Mike take a look at the US Government's case files, including witness statements and shell casings at the scene, showing that the Raven 23 team was taking incoming gunfire. We take a look at how the US government turned over the investigation into the Nisour Square incident to the Iraqi National Police, which employed shady and, in US courts, illegal tactics that caught the attention of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.And Entifahd Qanbar, the former Pr...

We pick up TWO YEARS after the investigation into the Nisour Square Incident and Blackwaters alleged misconduct US District Judge Ricardo Urbina throws out the case against Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough and Nick Slatten, blasting prosecutors for pervasive misconduct and vindictive prosecution. The Raven 23 men pick up their lives cautiously after Urbina’s New Year’s Eve 2009 ruling, trying to resurrect their dreams for themselves and their families. Meanwhile, the Bus...

Gina recently interviewed Derrick Miller, the Executive Director of the Justice for Warriors Caucus and Military Adviser to Texas Representative Louie Gohmert. Thanks to Representative Gohmert's leadership, Miller spends every day advocating for military justice reform. Support the Show.

Today, on May 12, the Congressional Justice for Warriors Caucus sent a letter to President Trump formally requesting a Presidential Pardon for the men of Raven 23. Representative Gohmert took the time to speak with Gina about the growing movement in Congress for a Presidential Pardon for Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard - four decorated military veterans unjustly serving time in prison for over five years now. Support the Show.

Gina and Mike examine the US government’s machinations to overcome the shortcomings of the investigation.Witness accounts begin shifting as US prosecutors pressure witnesses to bring the case to trial in response to mounting political pressure in Iraq.Prosecutors convene a grand jury to try to make manslaughter charges stick against Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough and Nick Slatten. Their star witness is Raven 23 team member Jeremy Ridgeway, who recants his statement that the convoy to...

Just two days after Judge Ricardo Urbina threw out the government’s case against Raven 23, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her legal advisors were scheming on ways to revive it.The news of the dismissal reverberated across Iraq, with religious and political leaders demanding that the US Justice Department bring new charges against Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Nick Slatten. State Department cables from the time show that the Iraqi government was threatening to wit...

Gina examines the role played by the national press in the prosecution of Raven 23.Although he is mere months from taking senior status, Judge Royce Lamberth inexplicably seizes the Raven 23 case, minutes after it is randomly assigned to another judge. This move is consistent with Lamberth’s checkered legal and judicial career.FOR MORE:ADMINISTRATIVE LAW REVIEWRoyce Lamberth's Rein of Terrorhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/40712173WASHINGTON POSTAt US Urging, Court Throws Lamberth off Indian Case...

In our final episode, Gina visits with Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten and Paul Slough three months after President Donald J. Trump issued unconditional pardons to free them from prison. They talk about hearing the news that they were coming home to their families for Christmas, and about their hopes and dreams. Support the Show.

The men of Raven 23 resist mounting prosecutorial pressure to plead guilty, and must finally face trial -- a legal odyssey that dragged for seven more years and encompassed three trials. In this episode, Gina chronicles the repeated violations of the men’s civil rights at the hands of prosecutors who are aided by a complicit judge.Support the Show.