Blackwater ASKED, not ordered, by Pentagon to stop random murder and thuggery

Erik "GI Joey" Prince, Crusader, Rethuglican, Fascist in the news again but not in Prison where he belongs

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There have been several allegations of abuses, the most recent by a group of Blackwater USA guards escorting a convoy through Baghdad on Sept. 16. Iraqi officials say the guards killed 17 civilians and wounded 24 without provocation in Nisoor Square. An investigation into the incident is under way.

But Justice Department investigators warned congressional staff in a private meeting in December that they might have little legal justification for prosecuting the case.

At that meeting — first reported Wednesday by The New York Times and confirmed by McClatchy — officials said it would be difficult, though not impossible, to hold the guards accountable for the deaths under current law.

The State Department also offered the guards some immunity if they gave accounts of what happened in Nisoor Square, complicating the prosecution.

Scott Horton, who wrote the Human Rights First report, said the group wasn't trying to end all work for private security contractors.

That's a big mistake. Screw mercenaries. Give the same training and money to members of the actual US armed forces. Mercenaries are bad for the world.

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Blackwater used gas Against American Troops at Iraqi checkpoint

Mercenary firm Blackwater ramps up federal lobbying

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According to a form posted online by the Senate's public records office, the Law firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice has been tapped by the company to lobby the government on contracting and other issues.

Womble Carlyle is the third lobbying firm to be hired by the company since October.

Blackwater has attracted congressional scrutiny and criticism from the Iraqi government and human rights groups for its involvement in several dozen shooting incidents.

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EXCLUSIVE…Blackwater Sued Again For Sept. 9th Attack, Five Iraqis Dead, Ten Wounded

Blackwater's Murderers Romp Freely, unaccountable Under any law, but those who protest mercenary killers are punished

Seven war protesters were found guilty Wednesday for staging a protest on the grounds of the private security firm Blackwater USA based in Moyock, North Carolina.

The seven men and women spent five days in jail waiting for trial in Currituck County because they didn't post bond.

The group says it staged a protest October 20, at the entrance to Blackwater to voice outrage over an incident in Nisoor Square in Iraq on September 16, when Blackwater employees killed 17 people.

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n a rare move, the judge stopped the trial and ordered the deputies to kick the entire audience, including the media, out of the courtroom.

He didn't give a reason.

Some attorneys say that was unconstitutional. The defendants say they believe they were stripped of their constitutional right to a public trial.

The judge gave them a suspended sentence and a small fine.

The defendants say they will refuse to pay the fine and they all plan to appeal their convictions.