Episode 9

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Published on:

8th Jul 2025

Biden's Baghdad Betrayal

Just two days after Judge Ricardo Urbina threw out the government’s case against Raven 23, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her legal advisors were scheming on ways to revive it.

The news of the dismissal reverberated across Iraq, with religious and political leaders demanding that the US Justice Department bring new charges against Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Nick Slatten.


State Department cables from the time show that the Iraqi government was threatening to withdraw from the Status of Forces Agreement and lucrative oil contracts.


Obama sent Vice President Joseph Biden to Iraq to assure the Iraqi people publicly that they would have “justice” in the Raven 23 case

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About the Podcast

Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt
Long before the term "lawfare" became a part of our vocabulary, the men of Raven 23 were the victims of a politicized prosecution, becoming prisoners of war in their own country.
How did four highly decorated American soldiers become prisoners of war in their own country? This series re-examines the US Department of Justice’s controversial prosecution following a gun battle in Baghdad between Iraqi insurgents and military contractors. Why did the DOJ hold multiple trials for over a decade? Was the DOJ seeking justice? Or playing politics?

About your host

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Micheal Flaherty