Rep. Jones: Marine general ignoring whistleblower complaint

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) says a Marine commandant has missed his deadline for responding to a whistleblower complaint he issued nearly two months ago, according to a report in the Marine Corps Times.

Jones had questioned Gen. Jim Amos at a March 12 hearing about the firing of Marine judge advocate Maj. James Weirick, who accused Amos and others of abusing their authority regarding a video of Marines desecrating dead militants in Afghanistan. Jones said Amos had six weeks to respond.

{mosads}“These are not difficult or technical questions: ‘Were you a part of what happened?’ They probably had an answer to that within three hours,” Jones told the MCT.

Weirick has alleged that Amos abused his authority in urging that Marines be harshly punished for the video that showed four scout snipers urinating on dead insurgents in Afghanistan, and that he and other senior Marine officials flouted procedures associated with the government’s security classification system.

Weirick was fired from his post and served with a restraining order after sending a testy email to an Amos adviser.

Weirick has also filed a complaint with the Pentagon Inspector General.

Marine Corps spokesman Maj. John Caldwell said “responding to Congress in a timely manner is a top priority.”

“However, we must ensure our responses are properly staffed and reviewed prior to submittal — this ensures our priorities and concerns are consistently and concisely represented,” Caldwell said. “Our staffing process in this matter is near complete. Our responses will be delivered to the committee soon.”

Jones says he’s determined to clear Weirick’s name.

“I’m going to be like a dog on a bone with this one,” he said.

Jones is facing one his toughest primaries in years on Tuesday, hoping to fight off former Bush administration official Taylor Griffin.