By Matt Hurley for the TIB Network:
From al-Reuters:
An Iraqi judge says he has issued an arrest warrant against leading politician and former Pentagon darling Ahmad Chalabi and his nephew Salem Chalabi, the head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein.These are certainly some interesting developments. It look like they are going to fight though...
Zuhair al-Maliki, chief investigative judge of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, said on Sunday an arrest warrant had been issued against Ahmad Chalabi in connection with counterfeiting money and against Salem Chalabi on a murder charge.
Ahmad Chalabi, who helped lead the United States to war in Iraq, was once touted as a potential leader of the country after Saddam was ousted, but has since been spurned by Washington and many in Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's interim government.
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Officials in Washington have said Chalabi is being investigated for leaking secrets to Iran. In 1992 he was convicted in absentia of bank fraud by a military court in Jordan. He says those charges too were politically motivated.
Salem Chalabi, a lawyer, is leading the work of the Iraqi Special Tribunal which will try Saddam, the deposed president captured last year by U.S. troops.
From My Way News:
Ahmad Chalabi, a former head of Iraq's previous Governing Council, said he and his nephew had only heard of the charges through the media and that they were politically motivated.Curious statements from Mr. Chalabi. And take note that he is in Tehran, Iran...
"There is no case here and I will go to meet those charges head on ...," he told CNN, speaking from Tehran.
"I have been fighting Saddam for many years and we survived that and we are certainly not going to be intimidated by this judge ..."
He said he had "grave reservations" about the court, but added: "Nobody is above the law and I am certainly not."
I had read elsewhere over the weekend that the Chalabis were "surprised" that they were not given advance notice of the warrants and were fearful of what that meant for justice in Iraq. Since when do judges call up defendants and let them know they are about to be arrested? Just asking...
8/10 Update
Today's press release:Members of the Chalabi family and their legal advisers will hold a press conference to rebut ongoing allegations about Ahmad Chalabi and his family. Tamara Chalabi will announce legal steps to be taken in light of the continuing attacks against her father and her familyDeveloping...
