State Dept. Immunized Blackwater Guards

Expect to hear a lot more about this.

You might remember that the first official word from U.S. officials about the Nisour Square shootings was a preliminary investigation by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (BDS) that relied primarily on statements from Blackwater witnesses. Now we find out that the BDS offered immunity to those guards for those statements. So not only did the State Department rush to release what appears from the military’s review of the incident to be a whitewash — but it might have also fatally compromised the FBI’s investigation of the incident. From the AP:

The FBI took over the case early this month, officials said, after prosecutors in the Justice Department’s criminal division realized it could not bring charges against Blackwater guards based on their statements to the Diplomatic Security investigators.

Officials said the Blackwater bodyguards spoke only after receiving so-called “Garrity” protections, requiring that their statements only be used internally — and not for criminal prosecutions.

At that point, the Justice Department shifted the investigation to prosecutors in its national security division, sealing the guards’ statements and attempting to build a case based on other evidence from a crime scene that was then already two weeks old….

It’s not clear why the Diplomatic Security investigators agreed to give immunity to the bodyguards, or who authorized doing so.

Bureau of Diplomatic Security chief Richard Griffin last week announced his resignation, effective Thursday. Senior State Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said his departure was directly related to his oversight of Blackwater contractors.