SEAL accused of hitting Iraqi on trial

NORFOLK, Va. - A Navy SEAL accused of punching a suspected terrorist in Iraq is now on trial in military court in Norfolk, Va.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe is facing court-martial at the Norfolk Naval Base. The Navy says the trial could last three days. Two other SEALs who were charged with failing to protect detainee Ahmed Hashim Abed were acquitted in military trials last month in Iraq.

Abed is suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors in Fallujah. McCabe is accused of punching Abed in the stomach after the Iraqi was captured and brought to a U.S. military base in September 2009.

In a day filled with motions, the military judge hearing the case, Capt. Moira Modzelewski, refused a defense motion to dismiss the charges.

Attorneys for McCabe had asked the judge to throw out the charges, citing a television report that the military official who ordered the court-martial had received pressure from his superiors not to dismiss the case.

The defense also questioned the accuracy of the translation of the alleged victim's deposition. The government is now searching for a new translator.

Finally, the government filed a motion alleging McCabe and SO2 Jonathan Keefe showed 'consciousness of guilt' by submitting identical statements. The judge said she would wait to make a decision on this motion. Keefe was one of the SEALs acquitted of his charges last month.

The prosecution of the SEALs has drawn fire from at least 20 members of Congress and other Americans who see it as coddling terrorists. Supporters of McCabe were on hand outside the Navy base Monday.