We obtained admissions implicating both defendants from Robbie Howell. goldberg what were their motives, missorgia . They held the victim responsible for nick howells death in iraq. He was fighting over there . Not exactly. He was killed during an ambush while he worked for a private militia called the diamond river group. Theyre the real criminals they got my son killed. Who is that . melnick thats my clients father, your honor. Another outburst like that and hell be on this side of the bar. Hes upset that his son died due to this companys incompetence. Save it for trial, ms. Melnick. Im remanding mr. Boatman. Bail for Robbie Howell will be set at 1 million cash or bond. [bangs gavel] melnick must have an agenda. She seemed all worked up about the diamond river group. One of the defendants and the victim both worked for the same company. Whats her angle . Shell say nick howells a victim, too. And popes death is Collateral Damage from private armies fighting in an undermanned, unpopular war. A run at jury nullification melnicks got a press conference scheduled today at 3 00. The beginning of her campaign to work the media and the jury pool. Blue city, blue state. Could have some traction. Well, lets dont go paws up because some selfserving defense lawyer wants to hop on a soapbox. mccoy you just couldnt lay off this one, could you, danielle . How could i, jack . Theyve outsourced an illadvised, mismanaged war. And now its spilled over into new york city. We are looking at a much smaller picture. E howell family has been through a lot. Were prepared to offer mr. Howell some consideration. Really . Becoming a softy in your old age, jack . I could be convinced that he wasnt fully aware of mr. Boatmans intentions. You want his testimony. Thats right. Does he want a deal or not . No can do. borgia dont you think theres a problem representing both defendts . No. They waived the conflict. That wasnt a problem for you . That mr. Howell wanted any plea bargain, i would withdraw as his counsel. Were offering you a plea to manslaughter, ten years. Because i tried to help my parents . You were looking for revenge, mr. Howell. When they hear about my brother at the trial, theyre gonna let me go. I trust ms. Melnick has told you that what happened in iraq has no bearing on this murder case. It may not even come into evidence. And theres where we part company, jack. My motion to enter video evidence. Video of what . Of nick howells ambush and beheading in ramadi, iraq. mccoy first problem with this video, your honor, is that it lacks proper authentication. We have no reason to believe that it is what it purports to be. Whered you get it, ms. Melnick . It was first posted on a jihadist website, your honor. Exactly. For all we know, it was staged. The Al Jazeera Television network, which confirmed e details through eyewitness accounts. And found it trustworthy enough to broadcast. Al jazeera. In any case, what happened to nick howell in iraq is irrelevant to mr. Popes murder. Irrelevant . It provides the context for this case. So ms. Melnick is conceding her clients culpability . No. In which case, the only rationale for this brutal piece of footage is to manipulatehe jury into an acquittal. Judge fischer, this ambush demonstrates that jeffrey pope was an incompetent cowboy. He cultivated a long list of enemies who may have committed this crime. You can esblish that through the testimony of your clients without the video. Thats fifth amendment blackmail, counselor. This video is the fullest, most objective rendition of what occurred, your honor. Hard to argue with that, mr. Mccoy. I cannot believe you would even contemplate screening a beheading for a jury. Its off the charts inflammatory. Yes, it is. So heres what were gonna do. Subject to a Proper Foundation up to the point of the beheading. In fact, ms. Melnick, i want the video clip preedited. So therell be no slipups in the courtroom. melnick mr. Howell, you testified that your older son nick returned to iraq to work for a private military company . Right. The diamond river group. And does he still work for this company . Nick was killed over there. This past september. Do you know how he was killed, sir . On a job for diamond river. They hit a bomb that was buried in the road. I know this may be difficult, mr. Howell, but im going to show you a video and ask you to indicate if and when you see your son nick. [screams and shouting] [gunfire blaring] [screaming] [man shouting in native language] [man shouting in native language] thats nick. [man shouting in native language] [men shouting] sir . Let him go. Look, i know the video was disturbing, but weve gotta make sure that this case doesnt turn into a colloquy on iraq. Easier said than done, arthur. Danielle put up a very effective smokescreen. The jury saw Young Americans dying in combat. Private contractors who knowingly took on a dangerous job. Trust me. The jurors werent making those kind of distinctions. These are images of american soldiers the public isnt used to seeing. To do with the crime youre prosecuting. It was a cheap shot. Agreed, but we knew it was gonna bring the war home to that courtroom like a ton of bricks. And after being rocked by that, the juryd be hardpressed not to feel something for boatman and Robbie Howell. If you cant fight the message, go against the messenger. You can expose Danielle Melnick for the opportunist that she is. Or do you have a problem with that . Of course not. Were getting a little ahead of ourselves. Defense still has another witness, kevin boatman. Why put on one of the defendants . To dish more dirt on the diamond river group. Or danielles got Something Else up her sleeve. Popes escort job was bad enough. And then he told us what was in the truck. And what was that, mr. Boatman . Files from the republican guard. They were sending them to the tribuna in baghdad to be used in the war crimes trial. Why did diamond river get this assignment instead of the military . Well, the private providers are superior to the reserve troops we have stationed over there. To protect key installations and individuals. And what, if anything, did you say to mr. Pope about this escort that we saw today on the video . Uh, me and nick went into his trailer and told him he was crazy to send us out. We needed to scout and swp the route first. Send a decoy through with five times the personnel supporting the job. melnick and how did he respond to that . He started screaming. Dont tell him how to do his job. Which, in effect, you were. He wasnt the one going out there with us. When your boss tries to send you on a suicide mission, you gotta speak up. And was this the first time that mr. Pope did anything like this . No, he was always cutting corners. He put every man who worked for him at risk at one point or another. Everybody hated his guts. So what happened when you complained about this particular assignment . Pope said that we de more money than bush and cheney. Told us to shut up and do our fing jobs. And did you . I was in the trailing suv in the video. Mr. Boatman, can you describe to us jamie cortez died in the explosion. Nick, um well, you saw him get captured. We went back there the same day and all we found was nicks head. And were there any consequences to mr. Pope for sending you into this ambush . From who . Hes not in the military, so he cant be courtmartialled. He cant be tried in a court of law anywhere. The private companies can do anything. To anyone. Theres no accountability. Thank you. So you decided to be judge and jury and execute him. Wasnt me. So you deny that you followed mr. Pope here from iraq . I came here to see robbie, my dead friends brother. And you deny borrowing nick howells car and gun . Thats right. Didnt you just testify to a litany of reasons reasons he screwed up. Motives for murder, mr. Boatman . For revenge . Those are your words. So youre asking this jury to believe that all these events you so meticulously recounted, all this evidence that lines up against you, is just pure happenstance . Objection, argumentative. Sustained. If you didnt trust your supervisor, why didnt you just quit . Because i wanted to serve my country. I wanted to finish what we started over there. But you left the military for a hefty salary, and a benefits package. I still put my ass on the line every day. For you. For all of you. So was killing jeffrey pope part of the mission . How dare you stand there in your safe little job and judge me. Youll be judged because you tracked down pope and murdered him. Objection you want to know why i followed pope here . You wanted to avenge your friends death . Thats what pope was doing here in new york. 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Lowes presents how to find the perfect match. Wow, theyre so perfect together. Its like they were made for each other. They were, by the experts at hgtv. Right. Now get 5 off select interior paint and primer in one boatman claims drgs hostage is a man named abu zayeed. Hes a jordanian terrorist whos been working with the insurgey for the last two years. Any chance hes telling the truth . Well, hes mentioned in various news reports as a high value coalition target. Why did melnick wait so long to spring this on you . For maximum impact in the courtroom. Maybe boatman never told her. Call the fbi. I want them to check this out. Because we believe boatman . Because if this information turns out to be accurate, we cant afford not to. Zayeeds a palestinian who grew up in the beqaa refugee camps north of amman. He wrangled a handful of suicide operations on the west bank during the second intifada. The israelis say hes responsible for at least two dozen fatalities before he turned his attention to iraq. How do we know boatmans talking about the same man . Or that popes colleagues even have him . Thats why i asked ms. Melnick to join us. I take it your client mentioned this when he retained you . Well, your r\sum\ speaks for itself. Meaning . This wouldnt be the first time youve crossed paths with an individual whos of interest to the bureau. Thats my job, agent guardino. Now, i came here in good faith. You want to hear more or not . Good. Boatman says this drg team was sent to escort an iraqi politician to a routine meeting. They were given the wrong address. And thats when they stumbled on zayeed. They recognized him. Took him into custody. Where is he now . Boatman claims drg has a secret detentionacility in a remote location. Is that possible . guardino they wouldnt be the first p. M. F. To have a private jail over there. Howd they plan to ransom zayeed . They put out feelers to a mossad contact in new york. Was the home office of diamond river involved . No. Just these renegades in ramadi. They thought they could make this one deal and cash out. Pope was sent here to get a down payment. My client thought this was an outrage. So he came here to stop it. Im not vouching for his methodology, jack. You want zayeed or not . Well check this out. If they have him, we want him. Whats on your mind that couldnt wait til tomorrow, jack . I thought we could at least exchange some pleasantries first. Scotch on the rocks, please. Im okay. Lets start with whether you engineer this zayeed revelation. After everything weve been through together, you think id do this to you, jack . Well, i didnt. Even if youre telling me the truth, i still think youre playing with fire. Whats my alternative . Sit around and bitch about things . We all need to take a stand, jack. By putting your political agenda before your clients . I can make my point and possibly get an acquittal in the bargain. Youve got your priorities reversed. Robbie howell doesnt strike me as a political activist. Well, burying your brothers head can change your perspective. And for all we know, boatman was after his part of 15 million. If he were, which i highly doubt, maybe its because hes as big a cynic as you are. W so . The war, jack. Who wins, who loses. Its all about a payday for somebody. Diamond river group. Halliburton. At the end of the day, zayeed, hes just a commodity. Hes a means to an end for whomevers got him. So this is your Mission Statement . Youre the one who makes this all about the money. And if youre questioning boatmans motivation, why arent you questioning this countrys . Do you think melnick set us up from the beginning . Shes being coy. Well never know. It plays rht into her hands. Out of control private soldiers undermining our troops. If the jury gets lost in politics instead of listening to facts. Boatmas denials were about as transparent as they come. Maybe ths why he panicked and threw a hail mary. I hope thats all it was. Mr. Mccoy. Mr. Branch wants to see you in his office. Jack, this is general clark ronson. Jack mccoy. Pleasure. Im the d. O. D. spoint man on this abu zayeed situation. Defense thinks boatmans storys credible, jack. Our eyes and ears in iraq have confirmed most of his allegations. Can i ask about the specifics . Well, weve corroborated a firefight at one of zayeeds reputed safe houses in ramadi. Witnesses then saw drg personnel leaving town with a prisoner. And the israelis . Weve got a bigger problem than the israelis. We have three marines in the sunni triangle who havent returned from a work detail. That indicates zayeeds group has them. We need boatmans full cooperation to help us find zayeed. Who presumably has no idea where these three marines are. Or any reason to tell us if he did. Well, thats what interrogations are f. Which means you need to make a deal with boatman. Today. Not all of this is under my control. ronson well, do what you have to do. There are american lives at stake. We need this guy to spill his guts. You dismiss the indictment, my client cooperates with the pentagon. He doesnt get a walk on a murder. Ill offer man one. You have no leverage, jack. My leverage is saying no. And youd compromise what weve been doing in iraq for the past three years . Dont wave the flag in my face, mr. Boatman. If you were the patriot you claimed to be, and jeffrey pope would still be alive. So lets put our cards on the table. I think you went after pope because you wanted a piece for yourself. Youre dead wrong. Then prove it. How am i going to do that . Give the department of defense whatever they need to get zayeed. That way ill know that your real concerns are for the safety and welfare of your country. And for the people of iraq. Then we make a deal. No, no, no, no, no. Whats the problem . Youre in checkmate, jack. Were not going back three moves for a doover. This is the only way this is ing to fly. Really . Is that your position . Then this meeting is over. Come on, mr. Boatman. Why dont we have a deal . I tried, arthur. They wanted a dismissal. Im not sure we have any other options. You know, theres another way of looking at this, arthur. We represent the people of new york. Not the pentagon. This would mean that a murderer lks out our front door. In three marines who might be saved as anyer american. Maybe. Boatmans vae is premised on a handful of rosy suppositions. We know he committed a coldblooded murder. And this office will, on occasion, deal with a murderer if he has critical information. Yeah, but we always get the milk before we hand over the cow. I know that. Your call. I dont think i have any choice. mccoy your honor, at this time the people move to dismiss the murder indictment against kevin boatman. Mr. Boatman is discharged. And as to Robbie Howell, mr. Mccoy . Were prepared to proceed to verdict. fischer summation and charge tomorrow. 10 a. M. [gavel strikes] mr. Howell hey. Let me get this straight. Boatman gets a pass and robbie still goes up for murder . Im not happy about it either, mr. Howell, but some things are beyond my control. What . Like justice . Please. Youre an important n. Youve got to help me understand this. Ey offered boatman a deal because he could help our war effort. But my son nick, he fought over there too. What do i have to show for it . One dead son. One in jail. Was to be hardworking americans. It doesnt make any sense. I dont even know what countryliviym ie. Let me see what i can do, mr. Howell. Well, why cant you just dismiss the case against me too . You dont deserve a walk, mr. Howell. But boatman gets one. That was due to extraordinary circumstances. Yeah, he had a terrorist to trade. And what do i got . We want to help you. We can make you a good deal. mccoy atted malaughter. Jail time . Five years. Oh, please. Boatman shot him. Not me. With your invaluable assistance and your blessing. My mom isnt going to make it five years. mccoy im sorry. Thats as low as we can go. melnick well, its five years too high. Your cas has fallen apart, jack. Hed be foolish to assume that. borgia robbie, juries are unpredictable. Its a huge risk. Theyre just trying to save face here, robbie. Salvage one guilty plea out of this travesty. Enough grandstanding, danielle. Its time to stop using your clients to play provocateur. This man should have had his own lawyer from day one. Dont tell me how to do my job, jack. Then gamble on your own dime who gives a damn what you think anyway . Robbie. Listen to me. Robbie. Look at me. This jury in this Political Climate is not going to convict you after what pope did to your brother. That is the most irresponsible statement you have ever made. Whos gonna do the 15 to life if shes wrong, mr. Howell . And how could you ever look five years the best you can do . Thats right, mr. Howell. Ill take it. They got zayeed. Where . The exmployees of the diamond river group were holed up with him in a warehouse about 30 miles from where boatman said theyd be. What about the three marines . So much for intelligence. Well, you gotta do the best you can with what you got at the time, jack. There was a greater good here. And we bought into it lock, stock, and barrel. male announcer in the criminal justice system, the people are represented