Transcripts may be released in Blackwater case

The federal judge who dismissed murder charges against Blackwater security guards after a closed hearing on whether evidence against them was tainted will release redacted transcripts of those hearings, according to The BLT.

The Washington Post had asked the court to release the transcripts last week.

The charges were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina on Dec. 31 after finding that prosecutors misused statements the guards made during a State Department investigation into the shootings in Iraq. The guards had been given immunity from prosecution for their testimony during that investigation, and those statements could not be used by prosecutors.

The release, scheduled for Feb. 2, could still be stayed by an appellate court if the government appeals the dismissal of the charges.