Trump Shows Signs He Will Pardon Servicemen Accused or Convicted of War Crimes

[cynatnite]

President Trump has requested the immediate preparation of paperwork needed to pardon several American military members accused or convicted of war crimes — including high-profile cases of murder, attempted murder and desecration of a corpse — indicating that he is considering pardons for the men on or around Memorial Day, according to two United States officials.

The requests are for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, who is scheduled to stand trial in the coming weeks on charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq.

They are also believed to include the case of a former Blackwater security contractor recently found guilty in the deadly 2007 shooting of dozens of unarmed Iraqis; the case of Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, the Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010; and the case of a group of Marine Corps snipers charged with urinating on the corpse of a dead Taliban fighter.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said they did not know if other service members were included in the request for pardon paperwork.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/us/trump-pardons-war-crimes.html?emc=edit_na_20190518&ref=cta&nl=breaking-news

[Historic NY]

1. Getting away with murder.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. For shame. Our armed forces are truly dishonored by this.

[COL Mustard]

8. No, those of us who served honorably (the vast majority) are not dishonored.....

....It's just another example of Trump undercutting the things that have made our military special. We're drawn from, and are therefore reflective, of American society, which means that there will always be some bad actors. But what Trump is doing by even talking about this for someone who hasn't been court-martialed, is inserting Unlawful Command Influence into the equation, and making it impossible for that person to get a fair trial. The other thing is, you can be assured that our current and future adversaries are watching to see what he does, for propaganda purposes if nothing else.

This is a truly awful thing to do and he is not helping the average GI Joe/Jane in future conflicts.

[lunatica]

3. Soon he'll sign "The Purge" holiday

[dlk]

4. Of Course He Will...

[no_hypocrisy]

5. William Calley has been waiting for his "Justice" for nearly half a century.

And Trump's going to give it to him.

[demmiblue]

6. Ugh, so disgusting. n/t

[dalton99a]

7. He worships Andrew Jackson, ethnic cleanser and war criminal

[Ilsa]

9. He advised stealing Iraq's oil.

Pardons for war crimes are par for his course.

[demmiblue]

10. ...

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. The rule of law don't mean shit to Trump