If this isn't a stinking cover-up, I don't know what is.
The US Army has a soldier beaten to a pulp with serious brain damage, Abu Ghraib style, they have one of the soldiers apparently videotaping the entire thing, and no one afterwards has any desire to look at the videotape or to keep it as evidence of what the hell went wrong, and possibly evidence of a crime? First, the military claims that no such tape even exists. Then, after the story hits the TV news and one witness admits he shot the tape, the military says, oh yeah, there was a tape, but it was probably erased. Sorry. I'm sure this was just an isolated incident.
Some amazing investigative reporting from WLEX-TV in Lexington, KY:
Petty Officer Christopher Sherwood, a spokesman for Southern Command, noted Tuesday that an initial investigation at Guantanamo found no misconduct or negligence by any soldiers involved in the training session.Also, check out WLEX-TV's coverage of this story for a video clip of their news segment, it's in the upper left corner of the page, labeled "Army Investigating Case Of Beaten Soldier."
'Since that time, we've looked for the tape and it's probably been recorded over,' Sherwood said.
Baker's attorney, Bruce Simpson, has requested the tape from the military. He said Tuesday that the military's account of the tape 'adds another bizarre feature to this whole sad story of Sean Baker.'
'If any tape ought to be preserved, it ought to be that one,' he said.
A soldier who witnessed the incident provided a written statement that a tape was made of the training session, Simpson said.
Simpson also cited an oral statement from another soldier who tried to obtain the videotape shortly after the incident but was told that the tape was erased, destroyed or the camera had malfunctioned.
Simpson said he planned to discuss the fate of the videotape with the Army investigators on Wednesday. Simpson also has asked the Army to turn over all of Baker's medical records."
You can read more background on this story here.
