[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8339-8340]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    IN SUPPORT OF LIEUTENANT PANTANO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, today is the third day of 
the Article 32 hearing for Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano, a Marine

[[Page 8340]]

who I have talked about here on the floor at great length and who has 
served our Nation bravely in both gulf wars.
  In an action of self-defense a year ago in Iraq, Lieutenant Pantano 
made a split-second, battlefield decision to shoot two Iraqi insurgents 
who refused to follow his orders to stop their movement towards him. 
Two and a half months later, a sergeant under his command, who never 
even saw the shooting and who was earlier demoted for his lack of 
leadership abilities, accused him of murder. Because of that, 
Lieutenant Pantano today continues to face an Article 32 hearing where 
a hearing officer will determine whether he will face a court martial 
for two counts of premeditated murder.
  Last night I described how yesterday's hearing came to a halt when it 
became apparent that Lieutenant Pantano's accuser, Sergeant Coburn, had 
recently violated his superior's orders not to give an interview on 
this case. The defense showed that he was interviewed for various media 
outlets, including last week's New York Magazine cover story on the 
case.
  In fact, Sergeant Coburn may now face charges for disobeying orders, 
and he left the stand yesterday after the hearing officer recommended 
he get an attorney.
  Madam Speaker, it seems obvious that this man's testimony cannot be 
considered credible. How can these charges move forward when the 
primary witness is someone who did not actually see the shooting and 
who may now face charges for disobeying serious orders about the case?
  Let me also quote from Navy Medical Corpsman George Gobles, the only 
other person present at the time of the shooting, and the prosecution's 
other main witness who took the stand yesterday. He called Pantano ``a 
damn good leader.'' He continued to testify: ``I felt the safest with, 
you know, this platoon because more than anything, because of 
Lieutenant Pantano, because of his leadership.''
  Madam Speaker, as I have said many times before, Lieutenant Pantano 
is by all accounts an exceptional Marine. I hope that yesterday's 
proceedings have finally begun to bring out the truth in this case. I 
pray that the end is near so that Pantano's family can put this behind 
them and move forward with their lives. I hope that in the next day or 
two, as this hearing ends, the hearing officer comes to the same 
conclusion that I and many like me have come to, that Lieutenant 
Pantano should never have been charged in the first place, and that all 
charges against him are dropped. I hope and I pray that the truth will 
prevail.
  Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I 
continue to ask my colleagues to 
research the case and consider supporting House Resolution 167, my bill 
to help support Lieutenant Pantano as he faces this battle. I encourage 
them to visit his mother's Web site at www.defendthedefenders.org and 
learn more about this fine young Marine, and I would be proud to call 
him my son or my son-in-law.
  I close by asking the good Lord in heaven to please bless Lieutenant 
Pantano and his family, and by asking the good Lord in heaven to please 
continue to bless our men and women in uniform, and I ask the good Lord 
in heaven to continue to bless America.

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