SEAL assault trial continues in Norfolk

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A witness in the court-martial of a Navy SEAL testified Wednesday he saw the defendant punch a suspected Iraqi terrorist.

"It was a right-cross. He punched him in the stomach," Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin DeMartino said at the trial of Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe of Perrysburg, Ohio. The detainee "let out a gasp of air" and fell to the floor, DeMartino said.

McCabe, 24, is accused of punching Ahmed Hashim Abed, who is suspected of masterminding the gruesome 2004 killings of four American contractors in Fallujah. The bodies were burned, dragged through the streets and strung up on a bridge. The incident incited a fierce, weeks-long battle.

DeMartino, who was responsible for guarding Abed, acknowledged that he failed to do his job properly. He also admitted that he initially denied any knowledge of what happened, but said his conscience finally overcame his desire to protect his friends.

"I had to either be in the good graces of the Navy SEALs or in the good graces of God," he said.

He also said he saw several SEALs other than McCabe enter the small building where Abed was being held. He said he believed others participated in the assault.

"Man to man, I'll tell you they went in there and did it," DeMartino said, but he added that McCabe's punch was the only one he saw.

DeMartino and the SEAL commander who led the operation to capture Abed both said there was no reason for SEALs to be in the holding area with the detainee. But a SEAL who testified for the defense said that it's not prohibited and that he stopped by just to get a look at a high-profile detainee.

The defense attacked DeMartino's credibility in questioning several witnesses, including some SEALs and intelligence officers who cannot be publicly identified, who contradicted portions of DeMartino's testimony.

Most of those conflicts centered on conversations DeMartino claimed he had with the witnesses, who disputed his accounts. A medic also denied DeMartino's claim that he wiped blood off Abed's chin. The medic, who conducted the medical screening of Abed shortly after his capture, testified that he saw no blood and no other signs of trauma.

Navy Reserve member Paul Franco of New York, who supervised DeMartino, said he had "reservations about his truthfulness." He said DeMartino would often say he had completed a task when he had not.

Some of the witnesses were given testimonial immunity, but one of them noted that he could still be prosecuted for lying under oath -- something he said he would never do, even to protect a fellow SEAL.

In the audio recording heard earlier this week, Abed denied any involvement in the killings and any connection with terrorist organizations. He did not identify McCabe as the assailant, saying he only caught a glimpse of a man's bare legs when he fell to the floor and his blindfold was partially dislodged.

Two other SEALs who were accused of covering up the assault were acquitted last month in Iraq after a judge heard much of the same evidence and testimony being presented in McCabe's trial. DeMartino admitted to McCabe's attorney, Neal Puckett, that he was nervous on the stand Wednesday.

"Is that because you've testified twice before and haven't been believed?" Puckett said.

McCabe is charged with assault, dereliction of duty and lying to investigators. He could get up to a year in jail if convicted.