Donald Trump will pardon U.S. soldiers convicted of war crimes

Edited by Lena Valverde Jordi
2019-05-20 16:30:36

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Washington, May 20 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump has asked for files to be prepared on pardoning several U.S. military soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes -- including crimes against humanity.

Media reports said that one soldier is currently slated to stand trial on charges of shooting unarmed civilians in cold blood while in Iraq.

According to The New York Times, Trump has requested the immediate preparation of the necessary paperwork, indicating he is considering pardons for the men around Memorial Day on May 27th. Citing two unnamed U.S. officials, the Times reported that assembling pardon files normally takes months, but the Justice Department has pressed for the work to be completed in just one week.

One of the requests is for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, who is scheduled to stand trial in coming weeks on charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq. Also believed to be included is the case of Major Mathew Golsteyn, an Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010.

Legal experts cited in the report said that pardoning several accused and convicted war criminals, including some who have not yet gone to trial, has never been done in recent history, and some were concerned that such pardons could erode the legitimacy of military law.

Trump -- who many observes believe has no respect for military or any other kind of law -- recently pardoned Michael Behenna, a U.S. soldier who was convicted of murdering an Al-Qaeda suspect in Iraq.

 



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