Friday August 28 in US District Court in Alexandria, attorneys for families of  Iraqi civilians slain by employees of Blackwater USA brought charges of murder against Eric Prince, company founder and former CEO.

"The person responsible for these deaths is Mr. Prince," Susan L. Burke, an attorney for the plaintiffs said in court.  "He had the intent, he provided the weapons, he provided the instructions, and they were done by his agents and they were war crimes."

Six former Blackwater guards have been charged in 14 of 20 civilian shootings between 2005 and 2007.  The lawsuit accuses the company of "lawless behavior" in a consolidation of five earlier lawsuits.

From Jeremy Scahill:

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."
Attorneys for the defense are asking the Judge to strike the affidavits from the former employees from the court record, calling them "scandalous and baseless"; the Judge has yet to rule on the motion.

Prince has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to intercede in the case and assume liability for Blackwater.       http://rebelreports.com/

Now back to yesterday in court:  Judge T.S Ellis III  "expressed deep skepticism about the claims."

He said, "These are certainly allegations of not engaging in very nice conduct, but where are the elements that meet the elements of murder?"

The most massive shooting of civilians was in 2007 in Central Bagdad.  Guards opened fire in a crowded street.  Five guards have been indicted for these killings, and one has pleaded guilty.  And some say this is just the tip of the iceberg.

And the judge calls their conduct "not engaging in very nice conduct."  Well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082803782.html?hpid=topnews