Were talking about a groundbreaking lawsuit that has been filed against Blackwater. [includes rush transcript]. covers war or gun violence, were not brought to you by the weapons manufacturers. And so, what happened that particular day from the evidence that Ive accumulated is that they were basically told to escort three flatbed trucks, which I understand were going to pick up some kitchen equipment, far different from what Scott Helvenston had understood, that he would be guarding an ambassador. The fact that these four Americans found themselves located in the high-risk, war-torn City of Fallujah without armored vehicles, automatic weapons, and fewer than the minimum number of team members was no accident, the suit alleges. Bills a judge in Tampa, and I called Bill, and I said, Bill, I think I need to get an attorney. And he said, Yeah, you sure do.. KATY HELVENSTON: Yes, and Mark Burnett produced that movie. JEREMY SCAHILL: I was very diligent in trying to get Blackwater to make any comment. He was taken out of that team and put in with men that were wonderful, good people, but he had never met them, he had never worked with them. And he wrote me back and said, Hi, Jeremy, Im the appropriate person to deal with on this, and he said he would entertain my questions and go over them with counsel. MARTIN SMITH: By the time the press arrived, a mob had set the cars on fire. And then I finally got one email back from Chris Taylor, who you guys also were dealing with, whos the Blackwater vice president. Their bodies were pulled into the streets, burned and their charred remains were beaten and dismembered. The men, it goes on, would be alive today had Blackwater not forced themunder threat of being firedto go unprepared on that mission. The commander responsible for Fallujah was Marine Colonel John Toolan. AMY GOODMAN: Were going to break, Katy. 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Helvenston arrived in Kuwait on March 18, where he was under the management of John and Kathy Potter, whom he knew from Combat Missions . Ill only be away from my kids for a couple of months. Thats why he chose Blackwater, she recalls. And the noon news, it had this just all of a sudden it caught my attention, and I looked over there, and I thought, Oh, my god, you know. slotId: "thenation_right_rail_72445", I mean, clear as day. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. The killing was March 31. They have no respect for me or the other mothers or brothers or children. And only the one person that survived the thing, and the whole team had to survive, so if someone on a team didnt make it through, then the whole team was pretty much eliminated. MARC MILES: Thats correct. KATY HELVENSTON: Yeah. AMY GOODMAN: Jeremy Scahill, unfortunately, we were not able to get Blackwater on, writing us the letter and saying no. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Justin J Shrek, age 31, Summerfield, FL Search Report. So Donna and I think the check was like it was quite a bit of money. KATY HELVENSTON: That exact incident. All this was shady enoughbut the real danger for Helvenston and the others lay in Blackwaters decision to cut corners to make even more money. Blackwater in the Crosshairs: The Families of Four Private Security Were gonna go have fun. Instead, the men set out at 8:30 in the morning with just two men per car, each short a rear gunner. I did want to ask you, Katy Helvenston, about the email that we got from Blackwater, from Chris Taylor, who said, Out of respect for the families and the integrity of the judicial proceedings, I cannot join you. Your response? You did the piece, the investigation into this case. And theres all sorts of Scott speaks to us posthumously through his email, and I just want to read from this. He was exceptional. He was ranked 12th in the nation in tennis. They were not provided with the armored vehicles or able to do the pre-trip inspection or the risk assessment. And I said, Well, youve already written a report. The suit further alleges that McQuown intervened and ordered only a four-man team be sent, although six were available, the other two remaining to perform clerical duties. A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. The suit further alleges that McQuown intervened and ordered only a four-man team be sent, although six were available, the other two remaining to perform clerical duties. He was an incredible athlete his whole life. Blackwater held a memorial service for the men at its compound. Scotty chose Blackwater, because they had a two-month contract, and he could be back home. KATY HELVENSTON: Well, not just at the memorial service. The insurgents made their own video of the aftermath. But they assumed it based upon certain representations by Blackwater. Our Daily Digest brings Democracy Now! Why cant I have it tomorrow? And I said, Are you going to rewrite it for my eyes only? I mean and I never did get that report. The original contract between Blackwater/Regency and ESS, obtained by The Nation, recognized that the current threat in the Iraqi theater of operations would remain consistent and dangerous, and called for a minimum of three men in each vehicle on security missions with a minimum of two armored vehicles to support ESS movements. [Emphasis added.]. But they were getting paid like Scott Helvenston was getting paid $600 a day. And at that point, they were on the east side of Fallujah. When Helvenston set off for the Middle East, his family thought he was going to be working on Blackwaters high-profile job of guarding the head of the US occupation, Paul Bremer. KATY HELVENSTON: He refused to even speak to me. At the top, the federal government could be getting billed as much as like $2,000 $1,500 to $2,000 for these men. hidden potential 2020 These men were told that theyd be operating in armored vehicles. And we welcome you all to Democracy Now! In an expose in the new issue of the Nation magazine, independent journalist Jeremy Scahill tells the story of the struggle of the four families of the slain Blackwater contractors to hold those responsible for their deaths accountable. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security explained AMY GOODMAN: And so, were you able to talk out of the presence of the guards? AMY GOODMAN: Can you tell us what happened when you asked for an incident report for what happened to your son? You dont just stick a Navy Seal on a brand new team with guys and send them into a combat zone. AMY GOODMAN: Did they say it was Fallujah? Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, Fighting in Sudan Persists Despite Extended Ceasefires as U.N. And Blackwater has only scratched the surface of it.. Scott Helvenston - Reality TV World Find 1 person named Justin Shreck along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. JUAN GONZALEZ: And how unusual is it to take someone out of their team and assign them to another team and send them out on a mission? On January 5, 2005, the families filed the lawsuit against Blackwater in Wake County, North Carolina. dr mark weiss psychologist; evaluate crossword clue 4 letters; pitt county jail bookings twitter. And Bush jokes about it. Lets see if we can screw with Scott. According to the suit, McQuown lacked the credentials of Helvenston and other ex-SEALs. None of that was true, says attorney Callahan. Initially they put us in separate hotels. After the training session, Helvenston got on a plane to Kuwait, where he touched down on March 18. [6] Helvenston's contract KATY HELVENSTON: I was given a number. Jeremy ScahillTwitterJeremy Scahill is the author of the best-selling Blackwater: The Rise of the Worlds Most Powerful Mercenary Army, published by Nation Books. The man heading the training was Justin McQuown, nicknamed Shrek, after the green ogre movie cartoon character. K.B.R. They said it was the direct line. And it goes through all the other ones. Tell us about your family, why he went into the military, and then what you understand about what he understood about the mission he went out on on March 31. Im gonna take care of you. You know, just stuff like that, which obviously wasnt true. Insurgents would ambush them from behind. The real problem here is that we have corporate America involved. And whats important here is that the lawsuit alleges that because of Justin McQuowns personal animosity toward Scott Helvenston, he intervened to have only four men sent, that only four were sent on Justin McQuowns order that day, instead of six, and the other two were held back to perform clerical duties in the Blackwater facility in Baghdad. AMY GOODMAN: That was President Bush at Johns Hopkins, answering no, not a reporters question a students question. In fact, Blackwaters then-general counsel, Steve Capace, gave a workshop last May on the subject to an International Super-Conference for contractors. Company founder Erik Prince and his family have poured serious money into Republican causes and campaign coffers over the past twenty years. Promised Iraqis Justice. Had they had a rear gunner, had they had armored vehicles, a very strong case could be made that they never would have been killed. I did get a call a few days later, and they all of a sudden were going to have this grand memorial. Scott Helvenston, Katys son, was the youngest Navy Seal ever. You need to put a face on these acts. Just like with tobacco litigation or gun litigation, once they lose that first case, theyd be fearful there would be other lawsuits to follow., The families two-year quest to hold those responsible accountable has taken them not to Falluja but to the sprawling Blackwater compound in North Carolina. In addition, the paper reports, Blackwater billed Regency separately for all its overhead and costs in Iraq. Regency would then bill ESS an unknown amount for these services. And I think that, you know, when we talk about Iraq corruption, a lot of times its Halliburton overcharged for this or Bechtel did this. Potter didnt have any other gainful employment, because many of these men who are ex-military, their skills dont transfer easily into the civilian sector, he says, adding that after Potter was removed for blowing the whistle on the armor issue, the company abandoned him until they needed him to avoid this subpoena and this deposition and they said, We need you and we need you now. And zoom, off he goes. Blackwater subsequently attempted to have Potters deposition order dissolved, but a federal court said no. Blackwater is able to operate over there in Iraq free from any oversight that would typically exist in a civilized society. The lawyers for the families charge that Blackwater has continued its practice of stonewalling. AMY GOODMAN: Well, what was the memorial service itself like? Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. And I just got on the internet, and I tracked them down, and I said, I have an attorney, and what happened was not right, and I want to pursue this. And I said, Do you want come on board with me? And they said, Hell, yeah, because they had been trying to do the same thing. They wrote back to us and said, Out of respect for the families and the integrity of the judicial proceedings, I cannot join you. Also with us, attorney Marc Miles, who joins us from studio in Irvine, California. For more on this ground-breaking lawsuit, we are joined by the three guests: JUAN GONZALEZ: This is an excerpt from _Frontline_s program Private Warriors, a documentary on the role of private military contractors working in Iraq. Erik Prince refused to speak to me. He said, Im gonna go over there, make some money, maybe make a difference. I wrote an email to Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater. This April at a forum at Johns Hopkins, Bush was asked by a student about bringing private military contractors under a system of law, to which Bush replied, laughing, that he was going to ask Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, I was going toI pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, Ive got an interesting question [laughter]. This was not a roadside bomb, it was not any other explosive device. One team member, former Army Ranger Wes Batalona, complained to a friend that the team had never worked together before. Scott was tall, tan and chiseled and, by all accounts, a model soldier and athlete. And she was told that they would have to sue Blackwater to get that information. And both the boys knew that if they were going to go through college, they had to figure out a way. navy seal scott helvenston death video - indigocreativity.com When Democracy Now! cid exam previous question papers. They were told that they were able to do a pre-trip inspection of the routes and be able to familiarize themselves with the area before going on routes. In one of its few statements on the suit, Blackwater spokesperson Chris Bertelli said, Blackwater hopes that the honor and dignity of our fallen comrades are not diminished by the use of the legal process. Katy Helvenston calls that total BS in my opinion, and says that the families decided to sue only after being stonewalled, misled and lied to by the company. Im driven and Im not going to quit. This is a rush transcript. VIDEO: People in Denmark Are a Lot Happier Than People in the United States. Trumps Blackwater Pardons Took It Away. The U.S. attack was sparked by the gruesome killing of four private contractors inside Fallujah. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. I said, Ill take any statement you want to give. I wanted to interview Justin McQuown. Helvenston arrived in Kuwait on March 18, where he was under the management of John and Kathy Potter, whom he knew from Combat Missions. But on March 12, 2004, Blackwater and Regency signed a subcontract, which specified security provisions identical to the original except for one word: armored. Blackwater deleted it from the contract. As always, click on the title of the post above. I went up to him, and I tried to shake his hand. They assumed the risk based upon a number of representations that Blackwater gave to them. About 6,000 of these are security contractors. Attorney Marc Miles says that shortly after the suit was filed, he asked the court in North Carolina for an expedited order to depose John Potter. Justin received a Bachelor of Science degree from . Thats how I work.. You know, I need to meet with these people.. AMY GOODMAN: And then he was in a Survivor-like program called Combat Missions? It was about what happened to Scotty and Jerry and Mike and Wesley. The fact that [McQuown]was being exposed infuriated him. Scotts mother believes, based on Scotts e-mails and conversations with contractors who served with her son, that McQuown feared that Scott might replace him at the company. This month marks the two-year anniversary of the first US siege of Fallujah, in which at least 600 Iraqis were killed. MARC MILES: Because what happened here is the issue is framed in the context of: Did these folks know what they were getting into? And Im reading these articles, and all of a sudden . The Lafayette McQuown House is significant as a typical example of a late 19th-century miner's residence in good condition. Theyre the whores of war.. The thing was see, I mean, they wouldnt even give him a map. And so, literally, the people that killed them were able to walk up and open fire on them. Lets see if we can screw with Scott. Those were like the last words that Scott Helvenston basically wrote before being sent over there to Baghdad. We will finish the job. Brig. On April 17, President Bush spoke at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. JUAN GONZALEZ: Now, at what point did you communicate with the other families of the men who died that day, and how did you decide that you needed to pursue legal action? He spent 12 years in the Navy SEALs until he left in 1994 as an E-6 (Quartermaster First Class).Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. tn_pos: 'rectangle_1', 2004 Fallujah Ambush - Ron Paul Forums trucks from a city of Taji to an army base, which is on the west side of Fallujah. Mr. Rumsfeld . He was divorced but continued to support his ex-wife and two children. They were told that they were able to do a risk assessment of every trip, and if the threat was too dangerous, that they could decline the mission. One of the people profiled in the story is Katy Helvenston, the mother of 38-year-old Scott Helvenston, who was killed on that day in Fallujah. I was going to I pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, Ive got an interesting question. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security - Wikipedia You said they had no map? We had argued about him going over there, she recalls. Blackwater is being sued for the wrongful deaths of Stephen Scott Helvenston, Mike Teague, Jerko Zovko and Wesley Batalona by the families of the men slain in Falluja. However, when youre talking about an assumption of the risk, youre talking about a calculated assumption of risk. I mean, thats I knew it was him from his looks, everything. He says, you know, basically says, Im not the kind of guy who would normally complain about anything, but this has gotten so extreme that I want to raise this with you. And so, you have a convergence of Justin McQuowns alleged interventions that led to these guys being sent out the way they were, and Blackwater the allegations of Blackwater systematically defrauding these guys. Anyway, there was a safer route that they could take north of the city that would take them about three hours to get to the other side. Prince has never given a penny to a Democrat. After his talk, he took questions from students at the school. The families of the four men, led by Scott Helvenston's mother Katy Helvenston-Wettengel and Donna Zovko, Jerry Zovko's mother, filed suit against Blackwater with lawyer Daniel . He was told at that time that he was not going to be doing security for the ambassador, Paul Bremer, and he was going to escort a convoy of trucks to pick up kitchen equipment. And this is something that I actually think Marc Miles would be very good on, but just in short, in studying this case, you sort of look at the pyramid scheme that exists in these war zones, where Blackwater is paying these guys $600. According to the suit, McQuown lacked the credentials of Helvenston and other ex-SEALs. But he says he was, quote, very manipulative, duplicative, immature and unprofessional.. Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater | The Nation President Bush issued a statement through his spokesperson. And when we come back from break, Katy, I want to ask you if Scott felt ready to go out on that day, March 31, 2004. MARTIN SMITH: But the men were uneasy. Scott Helvenston was a walking ad for the military. Without the big gun, without the third man, without the armored vehicle, they were sitting ducks, says Callahan. In honor of Public Media Giving Days, a generous donor will DOUBLE your donation, which means itll go twice as far to support our independent journalism. This is life and death were talking about here, and as Marc Miles says, the commodity that Blackwater deals in is human beings. We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. And so, I called a really good friend of mine, and they were godparents to both my children. And so, Scotty got over to the Middle East, and he was in Kuwait City for about a week, and then he was sent up to Baghdad, and all of a sudden, this same guy, Justin McQuown is Scotts boss. Obviously they concealed a material witness by hiring him and sending him out of the country. Callahan says Blackwater took advantage of the Potters financial straits to hinder the case against the company. Full Interview: Frank Mugisha on New Anti-, Former Guantnamo Prisoners Ask Biden to Let Them Keep Art They Made to Escape Inhumane Conditions. In fact, from what I understand, and folks that we have talked to, they had asked for a map shortly before going out on their mission, and basically the individual who was in charge of handing out the maps said, Its too late for a map now, and sent them on their way. And I had actually flown up there one weekend and spent the weekend with them. KATY HELVENSTON: It was probably 24, maybe 30-some hours before he was murdered. But then, the other component to this is that the lawsuit alleges that this Blackwater manager, Justin McQuown, because of his personal animosity toward Scott Helvenston the lawsuit and Katy characterize it as Justin McQuown resented Scott. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Since the team was driving without a rear-gunner and did not have armored vehicles, the insurgents were able to literally walk up behind the vehicles and shoot all four men with small arms at close range, the suit alleges. I called every hour and talked to them for like 15, 20 minutes, and Scotty had been so good about calling me and emailing me, and I kept thinking, you know, he would have called me and let me know he was okay, because he knew how worried I was. Can you talk about that a little bit? Lets take this opportunity. Now, just recently, last month, Cofer Black, who is a former C.I.A. KBR/Halliburton refuses to discuss the matter and will not confirm any relationship with ESS. AMY GOODMAN: Now, he was on television before he went to Iraq, is that right? The company has been slapped with a lawsuit that, if successful, will send shock waves through the world of private security firms, a world that has expanded significantly since Bush took office. But three days before the deposition, Miles says, Blackwater hired Potter up, flew him to Washington where its my understanding he met with Blackwater representatives and their lawyers. An analysis of Princes contributions prepared for The Nation by the Center for Responsive Politics reveals that since 1989, Prince and his wife have given some $275,550 to Republican campaigns. Scotty had tried to call me in the middle of the night, Katy Helvenston remembers. v. Blackwater Security is the lawsuit for wrongful death filed by the families of the four contractors for Blackwater Security (since renamed Academi) murdered in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution. It was the event that sparked the U.S. siege of Fallujah, in which hundreds and hundreds of Iraqis were killed, many of them who had nothing to do with this whatsoever women, children, others. Altogether an estimated 20,000 non-Iraqi civilian contractors are now working for the United States inside Iraq.