HANNITY'S AMERICA,
Fox News Channel, October 28, 2007

SEAN HANNITY, FOX HOST (voice-over): This week on 'Hannity's America,' exclusive, the truth about Haditha. One of the Marines accused at Haditha tells his story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Everyone involved acted according to procedure 100 percent?

JUSTIN SHARRATT: They were all Marines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: It is the first time he is speaking since he was cleared of all of the charges. It's an emotional interview that can only be seen on 'Hannity's America'.

'Hannity's America' starts right here, right now.

ANNOUNCER: From coast to coast, from border to border, from sea to shining sea, Sean Hannity is on. From the FOX News headquarters in New York City, this is 'Hannity's America'.

HANNITY (on camera): Welcome to this brand new edition of 'Hannity's America'. And we get right to our top story. It is a 'Hannity's America' exclusive. It is the truth about Haditha. One of the Marines accused of murder at Haditha is telling his story for the first time, along with his father and his attorney.

Corporal Sharratt was cleared of all charges and honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. Tonight, for the first time, he is telling us what really happened that day in response to the horrific charges made against him by Congressman John Murtha.

On December 21, 2006, military prosecutors charge four Marines with murder in connection with the deaths of 24 Iraqis in the city of Haditha in November 2005. Four other Marine officers were charged with dereliction of duty for not accurately reporting the grizzly events that happened that day. Events that occurred after a Marine motorcade was hit by a roadside bomb killing 20-year-old Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, Lance Corporal Steve Tatum and Justin Sharratt and Sanick Dela Cruz were all initially charged with murder. The Marines insist they were following their training.

Military officials and Congressman, like Pennsylvania's John Murtha, have tried to paint the incident a different brush, calling it a series of retribution killings.

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: There was no firefighter. There was no IED that killed these innocent people.

HANNITY: With murder charges against Corporal Sharratt being dropped and a prosecution's recommendation to try Sergeant Wuterich for a series of lesser charges, has politics gotten in the way of patriotism?

Tonight, one of those Marines breaks his silence and tells us what happened on that fateful day in Haditha Iraq.

Talk about November 14th, 2005. You are in Iraq. You are in a Humvee with a caravan. Tell us what happened that day?

JUSTIN SHARRATT: On November 19th, it started off as any other convoy to our combat out post. We had our firm base where we operated out of and then we had a smaller firm base with one platoon of Marines. We would go out there with chow and water and do radio code changes so the enemy, if they ever got any of our radios, we would be able to - they wouldn't be able to listen on us. We went out to the combat out pot. On the way back to the firm base we got hit by an IED.

HANNITY: Where were you when this IED exploded?

SHARRATT: I was in the first vehicle, the Humvee, and I was on the deterrent, which is the machine gun on top of the vehicle.

HANNITY: Describe the scene for those who don't know, these IEDs or roadside bombs -- in the process a fellow Marine was killed. Explain what that situation is like? Exactly where you were when the bomb goes off and what happened? What ensues immediately there after?

SHARRATT: When we went up that road, seemed like a normal morning, a normal amount of traffic, very little foot traffic because it was early in the morning. We got halfway down the road before we were going to make our right turn and I heard an explosion behind us. I looked behind to see if any other vehicles were still following. I remember seeing vehicle two and three in a cloud of smoke. I couldn't see vehicle 4. I knew we were probably hit by the IED.

I turned around yelled down we got hit by an IED. I manned my machine gun on top of that turret because I had to make sure nothing was going to continue to happen as a coordinated attack or possibly a vehicle borne IED coming for us head-on.

HANNITY: Immediately there after, according to all of the reports I read, is you all came under small arms fire from a house that was nearby, correct?

SHARRATT: The back half of the convoy.

HANNITY: You were aware that was happening?

SHARRATT: Yes.

HANNITY: How soon there after did you know one of the fellow Marines was killed by the IED?

SHARRATT: Not very long after the IED exploded it was passed over the wasn't that Lance Corporal Terrazas was killed.

HANNITY: How would that communication go out? What would they say?

SHARRATT: We had actually what we call kill numbers, given one before you deploy you. You are supposed to wear it on your arm underneath your pocket. Instead of saying names over the radio they say that number, so if the enemy is listening, they don't hear names and things of that nature. In our squad, everybody knew each other's kill numbers we knew who it was.

HANNITY: It was common practice usually the enemy, after an IED explosion, it's very common that small arms follows. In other words, they're surrounding the area. Then as the chaos ensues, which could be natural, they try and start picking off more soldiers with small arms fire. That began to happen here, right?

SHARRATT: Yes.

HANNITY: What kind of fire was incoming for you guys?

SHARRATT: It sounded like AK-47 fire after the IED.

HANNITY: Did you know the direction in at this it was coming?

SHARRATT: I had a pretty good in but I was in the front of the convoy and I wasn't personally taking fire. It sounded like it was coming from our south.

HANNITY: Explain the next step? What is t procedure? What does your training tell you to do when a situation like this occurs? What were you supposed to do and what did you do?

SHARRATT: We are supposed to do is get out of the kill zone. The IED about 100 meters away from it. Dismount our vehicles, let enough people hold security on the vehicles and we're supposed to set up corridor around the IED blast, looking for the triggerman, while we call our QRF, Quick Reaction Force, to come in to help assist with the corridor or if we took casualties.

HANNITY: Immediately there were two things unfolding at the same time, at least according to published reports. But you were there. You would know better. One was there was a group of civilians, seemingly, and that they started running away from the Marines that were there? Explain what happened in that situation?

SHARRATT: From what I remember, we were telling them to stop and they kept running and we didn't know what they were doing. We didn't know if they were running back to get guns or if they possibly were the triggerman.

HANNITY: Would that be normal reaction of somebody in that situation that they would run away from you guys?

SHARRATT: I have been in multiple IEDs. Being in Iraq two deployments, if you tell someone to stop, they are going to listen to you and they are going to tell you to stop.

HANNITY: So that was unusual?

SHARRATT: Yes.

HANNITY: At any time did you see any of our fellow Marines do anything other than what they were trained to do or how they were trained to respond?

SHARRATT: No.

HANNITY: Everybody acted according to procedure 100 percent.

SHARRATT: They were all Marines.

HANNITY: They were all Marines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: More of my exclusive interview with Justin Sharratt and his father right after the break. And we're going to find out what they think about their own government accusing Justin of war crimes. That's straight ahead. Don't go away.

HANNITY: Welcome back to 'Hannity's America'. We continue with my interview with Justin Sharratt, his father and attorney.

In this next part, Justin tells me just what it was like going through this entire ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: A number of civilians died in this incident. I think it was what, 24?

SHARRATT: 19 civilians.

HANNITY: 19 to 20. There's different reports. Some are saying 19 some say 20.

JAMES CULP: We believe the ones that Justin shot weren't civilians.

HANNITY: You believe they were part of the...

CULP: We believe they were insurgents.

HANNITY: You believe they were insurgents.

In total, there were 24 people that died?

CULP: Yes.

HANNITY: And when this is all finished what happens? I guess a response team comes in afterwards starts investigating the incident?

SHARRATT: Yes.

HANNITY: How soon there after is it that day?

SHARRATT: This it was that day but it was later on that day.

HANNITY: You start getting questioned by superiors what happened, et cetera?

SHARRATT: Briefly, yes.

HANNITY: When did you first find out that you were being suspected -- that you might be suspected of breaking procedure and killing innocent civilians?

SHARRATT: It was a couple months after the incident, actually.

HANNITY: Tell us about that day?

SHARRATT: I vaguely remember that day, because for that deployment, it was a hectic deployment for us. We would go on patrol, come back for two hours, and go out on another patrol. You were either awake patrolling or you were sleeping. I want to say we were out at the smoke pit. They called our squad out. They told us that a 'Time' magazine guy was going to come down to talk to us about what happened and possibly NCIS would be coming down to talk to us.

HANNITY: That 'Time' magazine piece eventually did come out in March 2006. It said, quote, 'According to eyewitnesses and local officials interviewed over the past 10 weeks, the civilians who died in Haditha were killed not by a roadside bomb, but by the Marines themselves.' Who, quote, 'Went on a rampage in the village, killing 15 unarmed Iraqis in their homes, including seven women and three children.'

Why would 'Time' magazine print that?

SHARRATT: From what I remember, it was originally reported that everyone that was killed that day was killed in the roadside bomb. I don't know who reported it or how it got reported that way. We remember reading it in the 'Marine Corps Times' as that and we were wondering what was going on.

HANNITY: That was factually inaccurate?

SHARRATT: Yes.

HANNITY: That's not what happened that day.

SHARRATT: No.

HANNITY: The next thing I want to ask you -- maybe I want to go to your dad.

Darryl, you were active and involved from the very beginning when your son was first accused of this. When you first heard he was being investigated being accused of these types of atrocities, you know your son, you knew and believed in him right from day one.

DARRYL SHARRATT, FATHER OF JUSTIN SHARRATT: Right. My wife and I have no doubt. We had talked to Justin I believe it was in April before he came back from Haditha. He assured us that he had done nothing wrong, that these charges were false and, actually, he didn't know why he was even being charged. He said, dad, we followed our rules of engagement that day. We went by the book and I don't know what's going on.

My wife and I were afraid. We definitely were afraid. She made some phone calls to Camp Pendleton and eventually talked to Justin's company commander. That was Captain McConnell. And we were given a little more information. He was great. He did a good job explaining what was going on to us. It made us feel better. At that time, we choose to find a law firm and that's when we found Gary.

HANNITY: You wrote -- for over a year and a half you said, 'Our family had to endure the accusation that is our son, Lieutenant Corporal Justin Sharratt was a murderer.' Then you went on to say, 'We knew that certain powers within our government knew that these charges were false.'

D. SHARRATT:

HANNITY: Who in the government knew the entire time that the allegations against your son -- here is someone willing to put his life on the line for his country, he had been through multiple IED experiences. He's nearly lost his life this day and the government had knowledge that the charges against him were false? How do you know that?

D. SHARRATT: I have no resources whatsoever to get to the high levels of the government. I was able to get to two articles, one written by Josh White of the 'Washington Post' and another written by an author -- I can't think of his name now -- about the solatia payments. I was able to piece together what happened in Haditha that day.

In fact, what we are ignoring is the testimony of a 26-year-old Iraqi army sergeant. He tells us the Marines were justified in what they did that day. The sergeant disappeared.

What I am saying is the government has come out every other day -- there was anonymous leak. Someone was leaking out information that called these Marines murderers. And I was able to piece together most of what happened in Haditha using Josh White's article.

HANNITY: That's a stunning statement, testament, that if you can find the information and the government would ignore it -- if Marines and airmen and Army men are going to be out there defending our liberties and freedoms, one of them being the believe that you are innocent until proven guilty, you would think the guys on the front lines would deserve that more than anybody else.

Have you lost faith and confidence in your country if you say they knew about this and falsely charge your son?

D. SHARRATT: You know, Sean, we were angry and frustrated when that happened. I am understanding more and more what happened in Haditha. I know they can never apologize for what happened to my son, but what happened that day -- it shows up even in the private sector, the Marines were not willing to give up their informants.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: We will have more of my exclusive interview and the truth about Haditha after the break when Justin and his father respond to Congressman John Murtha's horrific accusations he killed innocent civilians in cold blood. Every American should see this. Next.

HANNITY: Welcome back to 'Hannity's America'. In the final part of my interview with Justin Sharratt, his father and their attorney, the three respond to the comments made by Congressman John Murtha. And they share their own personal feelings about him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: Let's go to Congressman John Murtha.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURTHA: There was no firefight. There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: When you first heard a United States Congressman utter those words, what was your reaction?

SHARRATT: I was very upset when he said that. There's no firefight, no IED. Mr. Murtha, go talk to Lance Corporal Terrazas' parents and tell them that he didn't die by the IED, that there was no firefight. Tell them that their son just randomly died on the side of the road with their vehicle totally destroyed. Tell that to Mr. Murtha and have him go tell that to Lance Corporal Terrazas' parents.

HANNITY: What was your reaction to that?

D. SHARRATT: Sean, I feel Mr. Murtha denied these Marines, my son and the other 6 Marines involved, his Haditha comrades their constitutional rights. These young men, our military personnel, are asked to take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. They do this so that they understand that there is a higher plain here. It isn't the individual Marine. They are fighting for something a lot higher than themselves. Mr. Murtha took the same oath of office and I feel that he denied my son and these other Marines their constitutional rights of the presumption of innocence.

HANNITY: Is it because the war has been so politicized. In other words, he put his own political agenda and desire to end this war above giving you and your family and your son the presumption of innocence? You think this is all about politics for him?

SHARRATT: I do. I think it is.

D. SHARRATT: Yes, it is.

HANNITY: Do you want an apology from Congressman John Murtha?

SHARRATT: Not any more.

HANNITY: Why?

SHARRATT: Because it would be a waste of time. What he said is hard said and what's been done is done. It's been over a year since this happened. It would be too late in my opinion.

HANNITY: Would you like an apology from John Murtha?

D. SHARRATT: I feel an apology would be too late for Mr. Murtha. What I would like him to do is open a dialogue between these Haditha Marines, between my son -- I don't think he could ever explain how he could put his individual career, how he could put his political career above the lives of these Marines.

HANNITY: That's what you feel he did.

D. SHARRATT: That's exactly what he did. We know he did that.

HANNITY: There was a confrontation. A young student had an opportunity with a camera to confront Congressman Murtha.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STUDENT: Now that the murder charges against Lance Corporal Sharratt and Steven Tatum have been dropped on the Haditha incident, are in the process of being dropped, would you like to issue an apology for saying that they killed innocent civilians in cold blood?

MURTHA: Is that trial still going on?

STUDENT: Justin Sharratt and Steven Tatum, the men you are accused of killing in cold blood...

MURTHA: Is the trial still going on?

STUDENT: The charges are in the process of being dismissed. So what...

MURTHA: (Inaudible).

STUDENT: The process -- they're being dismissed.

MURTHA: Out. Out. Out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: You know, when you see him saying, the trial is still going on, you have already been exonerated in this case, what does that tell you about the character of a man who can't admit he was wrong and say he is sorry?

SHARRATT: I can't answer that.

D. SHARRATT: Sean, I made 52 phone calls to Mr. Murtha's office. He returned one. During that one conversation I asked him specific questions, but he was the career politician and he avoided answering those questions. I was not going to get into the confrontation with Mr. Murtha over the telephone. What I felt I want to see happen is someone put him in front of a jury where he has to put his hand on the bible and swear to tell the truth and tell us why and where he got this information, why these leaks were coming from Haditha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)