Blackwater

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Pardon of Contractors an 'Affront to Justice'

And a violation of international law, UN experts say

(Newser) - Experts say that President Trump’s pardon of four Blackwater contractors who were convicted of killing more than a dozen Iraqis in 2007 violates international law, Reuters reports. The president’s move to pardon Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard is "an affront to justice and...

Pardon Brings Fresh Attention to Lurid Kushner Case
Pardon Brings Fresh Attention
to Lurid Kushner Case
the rundown
Dec 24, 2020 11:19 AM CST

Pardon Brings Fresh Attention to Lurid Kushner Case

Charles Kushner hired a prostitute in a sting against his own brother-in-law

(Newser) - On the one hand, President Trump's latest batch of pardons was excellent news for the Kushner family. On the other hand, it has brought renewed attention to why Charles Kushner—the father of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner—needed a pardon in the first place. It's not a pretty...

UN Rights Office 'Deeply Concerned' by Blackwater Pardons
In Iraq, Fury at Pardons
of Blackwater Contractors
THE RUNDOWN
Dec 23, 2020 3:01 PM CST

In Iraq, Fury at Pardons of Blackwater Contractors

Trump 'broke my life again,' says father of youngest Baghdad massacre victim

(Newser) - President Trump's decision to pardon four Blackwater contractors convicted of killing more than a dozen unarmed civilians in Baghdad has caused anger in Iraq—and concern at the United Nations. The UN rights office says it is "deeply concerned" by the pardons for the men involved the 2007...

Erik Prince Helped Find Ex-Spies to Infiltrate Libs: NYT

The Blackwater founder helped Project Veritas spy on liberal groups, paper reports

(Newser) - The former head of Blackwater—yes, the private military company—has privately recruited former spies to infiltrate liberal groups and report to the conservative Project Veritas, the New York Times reports. Per documents and interviews, Erik Prince helped find American and British ex-spies to dig up intelligence on labor organizations,...

Ex-Blackwater Contractor Gets Life for 2007 Massacre

Nicholas Slatten sentenced

(Newser) - A former Blackwater security contractor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq that left 14 people dead, the AP reports. Federal judge Royce Lamberth issued the sentence after a succession of friends and relatives requested leniency for Nicholas...

Blackwater Founder Admits to Trump Tower Meeting

Erik Prince is the first to acknowledge it happened

(Newser) - Blackwater founder Erik Prince may have played a role in the Trump presidential campaign after all. Speaking Friday to Al Jazeera, Prince admitted to attending a controversial 2016 Trump Tower meeting to "talk about Iran policy"—a fact he left out when talking to the House Intelligence Committee...

Blackwater Sniper Found Guilty in 2007 Massacre

This was Nicholas Slatten's 3rd trial

(Newser) - A former Blackwater security contractor was convicted Wednesday of murder at his third trial in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq. Nicholas Slatten, 35, of Sparta, Tennessee, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Washington for his role in the shooting, which strained international relations and drew intense...

Mistrial Declared for Former Blackwater Sniper

Nicholas Slatten was accused of massacring Iraqi civilians

(Newser) - The second trial of a former Blackwater sniper accused of firing the first shots in what prosecutors described as an unprovoked massacre of Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad intersection ended in a mistrial Wednesday. US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth declared a mistrial in the Nicholas Slatten case after the...

Blackwater Founder Weighing Senate Run in Wyoming

He would be part of Steven Bannon's anti-establishment insurgency

(Newser) - The man who founded the controversial security contractor Blackwater is considering running for Congress, and he'll have the backing of Breitbart leader and former White House advisor Steve Bannon if he does. Erik Prince is reportedly considering a challenge to Republican Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, the Washington Post reports,...

White House May Outsource Afghan War to Contractors

Blackwater's Erik Prince floats his plan

(Newser) - President Trump is said to be frustrated with progress in the 16-year-old Afghanistan war, and a familiar name in US military circles is offering an unprecedented solution. Blackwater founder Erik Prince has floated a plan to the White House that it turn over most of its military duties in the...

Murder Conviction Overturned in Blackwater Civilian Killings

3 others convicted in 2007 incident ordered to be resentenced

(Newser) - A US appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former Blackwater security guard—and called for the resentencing of three others—who killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007, the Washington Post reports. Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Dustin Heard, and Evan Liberty were convicted in 2014 for opening fire...

Post: Blackwater Founder Met With Russian on Trump's Behalf

Sources say he was trying to set up unofficial communications channel

(Newser) - Is Blackwater founder Erik Prince secretly doing outreach for the Trump administration? According to a Washington Post report that an administration official calls "ridiculous," Prince met a Russian official close to Vladimir Putin in the Seychelles days before Trump took office in an effort to set up a...

Blackwater Guards Get Hefty Sentences
 Blackwater Guards 
 Get Hefty Sentences 
updated
Apr 13, 2015 3:47 PM CDT

Blackwater Guards Get Hefty Sentences

Nicholas Slatten gets life; 3 others get 30 years each

(Newser) - A federal judge sentenced former Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten to life in prison and three others to 30-year terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others. The carnage in Baghdad's Nisoor Square caused an international uproar over the use...

Ex-Blackwater Firm Makes Millions in Futile Fight on Afghan Drugs

Guardian: Academi pulled in $569M to kill Afghan narcotics industry, which is thriving

(Newser) - The company formerly known as Blackwater has pulled in a pretty penny from US taxpayers in its Pentagon-supported drive to flush out the Afghan narcotics industry: Nearly $570 million from fiscal 2002 to September 2013 was funneled to the firm now known as Academi—about 32% of the $1.8...

4 Blackwater Guards Convicted in Deadly Iraq Shooting

Security contractors found guilty in infamous 2007 incident

(Newser) - Four former Blackwater security contractors were convicted today in federal court for a 2007 mass shooting in Baghdad that left Iraqi civilians dead, the AP reports. (Some accounts cite an original death toll of 14, but the BBC notes that an Iraqi investigation later raised the total to 17; about...

Blackwater to Investigator: We Could Kill You

After investigators uncovered drunken misconduct by guards

(Newser) - Well, that's one way to deal with being investigated. In 2007, Blackwater USA's project manager for Iraq essentially threatened to kill two State Department investigators, according to an explosive new report in the New York Times today. The incident took place not long before the private security contractor...

New Charges in '07 Blackwater Shootings

Justice Department brings fresh charges

(Newser) - The US Justice Department today brought fresh charges against four former Blackwater Worldwide security contractors, resurrecting an internationally charged case over a deadly 2007 shooting on the streets of Baghdad. A new jury indictment charges the men in a shooting that inflamed anti-American sentiment in Iraq and heightened diplomatic sensitivities...

Blackwater Pays $7.5M to Settle Arms Case

Feds accused firm of rogue arms, technology trading

(Newser) - The company that used to call itself Blackwater has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle allegations of illegal arms and technology trafficking. Investigators charged the company—which changed its name to Xe and then to Academi —with 17 violations, including illegally possessing unregistered automatic weapons, lying to...

Blackwater, Er, We Mean Xe, Changes Name Again

CEO says 'Academi' will strive to be 'boring'

(Newser) - Blackwater's attempt to scrub clean its image by rebranding itself as Xe Services didn't really throw anyone off the scent—it was forever identified as "the company formerly known as Blackwater"—so now the company is trying again. Today, it will formally announce its new name,...

Blackwater Founder Forms Secret Army for UAE

$529M force for special operations, suppressing revolt

(Newser) - At a military complex amid the sands of the United Arab Emirates, Blackwater founder Erik Prince has set up a hundreds-member-strong, $529-million private army designed to suppress internal revolts, protect high-rises and oil infrastructure from terrorist attack, and conduct special operations both in and out of the UAE, reports the...

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