Current Events > Trump actually pardoned three members convicted of war crimes

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Hexenherz
11/16/19 9:57:04 AM
#1:


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/15/ donald-trump-pardons-clint-lorance-mathew-golsteyn-war-crime-cases/1229083001/

President Donald Trump intervened in three war crimes cases Friday, pardoning a former soldier convicted of second-degree murder and an Army major charged with executing a man suspected of being a Taliban bomb-maker.

Trump granted a pardon to Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, currently serving a 19-year sentence for ordering soldiers to fire on unarmed Afghan civilians, two of whom died. He also granted a pardon to Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, charged with killing suspected a bombmaker.

The president also reversed the demotion of Edward Gallagher, a Navy Seal accused of using a knife to kill a teenage Islamic State prisoner in Iraq, and of other killings of civilians. Gallagher was found not guilty of the most serious charges in July but was found guilty of posing for a photo with a human casualty.

Trump has described the men as heroes operating in difficult circumstances and the cases became a cause celebre among conservatives. Critics say the pardons set a bad precedent, signaling the U.S. won't honor military conventions and international law.

"Some of these soldiers are people that have fought hard, long," Trump told reporters earlier this year. "You know, we teach them how to be great fighters, and then when they fight, sometimes they get, really, treated very unfairly."

Trump has granted a number of controversial pardons with political overtones, including conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, and former Bush White House aide Scooter Libby. In the first presidential pardon of a convicted murderer in modern history, he pardoned former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna in May.

Behenna was convicted by a military court of killing an unarmed suspected al Qaeda captive who had been stripped naked before being shot.

According to prosecutors, Gallagher's fellow SEALs became so disturbed with his killings of civilians that they tampered with his sniper rifle to make it less accurate, and would also fire warning shots at civilians to prevent Gallagher from shooting at them.

Gallagher had been selected for promotion to Senior Chief, awarded a Bronze Star with a V for valor, the White House said. Though acquitted on the most serious charges, he was stripped of those honors. "Given his service to our nation, a promotion back to the rank and pay grade of Chief Petty Officer is justified," the White House said.
Golsteyn was charged with executing a man suspected of being a Taliban bombmaker who had been ordered to be released after an interrogation.

Golsteyn said he shot the man because he was certain his bomb-making would "continue to threaten American troops and their Afghan partners," the White House said. In a tweet last year, Trump described Golsteyn as a "U.S. military hero."

Lorance was convicted in 2013 of second-degree murder after he ordered his soldiers to open fire on three unarmed Afghan men, two of whom died.

"The United States military justice system helps ensure good order and discipline for our millions of uniformed military members and holds to account those who violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice," the White House said in a statement Friday. "Due in part to this system, we have the most disciplined, most effective, most respected, and most feared fighting force in the world."

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darkjedilink
11/16/19 9:58:27 AM
#2:


Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.
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Phantom_Nook
11/16/19 10:00:32 AM
#3:


darkjedilink posted...
Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.

*slurp slurp*
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Hexenherz
11/16/19 10:00:42 AM
#4:


Lorance wasn't in charge of his platoon for a very long time, and he was charged with one (sometimes multiple) war crimes for literally every day he was in charge, including ordering soldiers to shoot at innocent villagers (including children), ordering a soldier to falsify a report that the villagers attacked their position first, threatening to kill those villagers when they came the following day to complain about being shot at, ordering his soldiers to open fire on three guys on a motorcycle that posed no threat to them (then falsifying a report that the support helicopter he radio'd in had confirmed the three men were armed, even though the helicopter had arrived after they had already been killed).

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JoeDangIt
11/16/19 10:02:29 AM
#5:


Hopefully these can be reversed.
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Hexenherz
11/16/19 10:02:38 AM
#6:


darkjedilink posted...
Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.
That should have been the role of a system of due process to determine, a process that could not have been effective once the president started interfering in the trial.

It's also great for morale when the guy was caught with fucking drugs and yet they didn't pursue charges originally because they were afraid of a presidential pardon happening anyway. Or when he was talking shit about superior officers on instagram.


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Hexenherz
11/16/19 10:07:38 AM
#7:


The more I think about this the more pissed off I get that we have such a disgusting piece of shit in power. The guy only cares about looking good and "supporting the military", and he has absolutely zero fucking sense of what that entails.

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The Great Muta 22
11/16/19 10:07:49 AM
#8:


darkjedilink posted...
Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.


Hexenherz posted...
Gallagher's fellow SEALs became so disturbed with his killings of civilians that they tampered with his sniper rifle to make it less accurate, and would also fire warning shots at civilians to prevent Gallagher from shooting at them.


Sounds totally innocent and set up by the "evil corrupt people!"

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marc55
11/16/19 10:08:42 AM
#9:


gallagher seems to be the worst of the 3 .....he was murdering civilians?!!!??
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BuckVanHammer
11/16/19 10:09:48 AM
#10:


marc55 posted...
gallagher seems to be the worst of the 3 .....he was murdering civilians?!!!??

the whole thing with him was a circus, now even more so...
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Hexenherz
11/16/19 10:10:19 AM
#11:


marc55 posted...
gallagher seems to be the worst of the 3 .....he was murdering civilians?!!!??
Lorance was, too.

His defense in court was that he ordered his men to open fire on the motorcycle riders because "a lot of the enemy was using motorcycles" - the rest of the unit testified that motorcycles are the number one mode of transportation for Afghans.

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ThyCorndog
11/16/19 10:10:50 AM
#12:


murdering civilians is a horrible crime and any one that does it should be in jail. soldiers shouldn't be let off easy if they're murderers

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#13
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DarkChozoGhost
11/16/19 10:21:26 AM
#14:


Vile and indefensible
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#15
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Anteaterking
11/16/19 10:27:02 AM
#16:


Hexenherz posted...
According to prosecutors, Gallagher's fellow SEALs became so disturbed with his killings of civilians that they tampered with his sniper rifle to make it less accurate, and would also fire warning shots at civilians to prevent Gallagher from shooting at them.


Imagine breaking your mental programming of covering everything up enough to out someone like this, just to have the ****ing president pardon them anyway.
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The Great Muta 22
11/16/19 10:31:42 AM
#17:


Anteaterking posted...
Imagine breaking your mental programming of covering everything up enough to out someone like this, just to have the ****ing president pardon them anyway.


That's the biggest thing that should show everyone how fucked up this whole thing is for Trump to do. Imagine all the shady shit that happens with soldiers that ROUTINELY is covered up and the mentality of not letting anything leak out, especially with the fucking SEALS. That means that this psychopath's behavior was so vile that they felt the need to MAKE this incident public and go out of the way to risk their own lives and livelihood to expose how fucked up this was.

And then Trump goes and pardons him anyway because "HUR DUR MUH MILITARY VETERANS I LOVE EM, NO ONE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE FORCES THAN ME!".

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Blue_Inigo
11/16/19 10:32:56 AM
#18:


Our President sure does love murderers
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tremain07
11/16/19 10:33:54 AM
#19:


Roger Stone is smiling now he know his pardon is going to come up eventually and once Trump wins reelection we will definitely be seeing even more pardons of vile crimes
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ledbowman
11/16/19 10:34:11 AM
#20:


GregShmedley posted...
He's building his personal army to stand by him should transition of powers be challenged.

Biker pardons incoming
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darkjedilink
11/16/19 10:45:31 AM
#21:


Hexenherz posted...
darkjedilink posted...
Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.
That should have been the role of a system of due process to determine, a process that could not have been effective once the president started interfering in the trial.

It's also great for morale when the guy was caught with fucking drugs and yet they didn't pursue charges originally because they were afraid of a presidential pardon happening anyway. Or when he was talking shit about superior officers on instagram.


Due process DID find that out, which was why he was found not guilty on all charges except for the posing.

He only had the grade reduction because of his time in jail, for crimes he was found not guilty of. THAT is why Trump did what he did.
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Hexenherz
11/16/19 10:50:53 AM
#22:


darkjedilink posted...


Due process DID find that out, which was why he was found not guilty on all charges except for the posing.
Yes, after the president himself started interfering in the proceedings.

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Bluebomber182
11/16/19 10:55:29 AM
#23:


darkjedilink posted...
Hexenherz posted...
darkjedilink posted...
Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.
That should have been the role of a system of due process to determine, a process that could not have been effective once the president started interfering in the trial.

It's also great for morale when the guy was caught with fucking drugs and yet they didn't pursue charges originally because they were afraid of a presidential pardon happening anyway. Or when he was talking shit about superior officers on instagram.


Due process DID find that out, which was why he was found not guilty on all charges except for the posing.

He only had the grade reduction because of his time in jail, for crimes he was found not guilty of. THAT is why Trump did what he did.


No Trump pardoned these sacks of shit because hes corrupt and wipes his ass with the rules of engagement
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darkjedilink
11/16/19 11:10:04 AM
#24:


Hexenherz posted...
darkjedilink posted...


Due process DID find that out, which was why he was found not guilty on all charges except for the posing.
Yes, after the president himself started interfering in the proceedings.

So, interfering with farce proceedings is a BAD thing? The prosecutor literally hacked the defense attorneys' emails, bruh.
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Antifar
11/16/19 11:12:15 AM
#25:


Keep this in mind whenever people argue in favor of Trump's immigration policies. It's not really about the law and order.

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The Great Muta 22
11/16/19 11:12:57 AM
#26:


darkjedilink posted...
So, interfering with farce proceedings is a BAD thing? The prosecutor literally hacked the defense attorneys' emails, bruh.


Yeah, it actually is a bad thing for the fucking POTUS to overstep his boundaries and interfere with something that doesn't pertain to him while it's happening. If he still wanted to pardon AFTER the proceedings, it's questionable but fundamentally fine. But trying to influence during is not.

Why do you view the POTUS as a king with unlimited power?

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UnholyMudcrab
11/16/19 11:13:16 AM
#27:


I want nothing more than to turn on the TV one day in the very near future and watch Trump being dragged out of the White House in handcuffs
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IShall_Run_Amok
11/16/19 11:14:14 AM
#28:


UnholyMudcrab posted...
I want nothing more than to turn on the TV one day in the very near future and watch Trump being dragged out of the White House in handcuffs
Do they even make cuffs that tiny?

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Hexenherz
11/16/19 11:49:10 AM
#29:


darkjedilink posted...
So, interfering with farce proceedings is a BAD thing? The prosecutor literally hacked the defense attorneys' emails, bruh.


In a court hearing last month, Czaplak said the code embedded in the emails recorded nothing more than where and when messages were opened by recipients. It was part of an NCIS investigation into unauthorized leaks to the media.


Czaplak was replaced for that, too.

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Ruvan22
11/16/19 7:02:54 PM
#30:


darkjedilink posted...
Hexenherz posted...
darkjedilink posted...


Due process DID find that out, which was why he was found not guilty on all charges except for the posing.
Yes, after the president himself started interfering in the proceedings.

So, interfering with farce proceedings is a BAD thing? The prosecutor literally hacked the defense attorneys' emails, bruh.


Are you saying he was found innocent, or that he didn't do any of the thing his teammates reported him doing?
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CADE FOSTER
11/18/19 4:15:43 PM
#32:


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LightningAce11
11/18/19 4:16:16 PM
#33:


American soldiers are just terrorists.
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Funkydog
11/18/19 4:16:58 PM
#34:


And people will continue to wonder why people in these countries despise America
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spudger
11/18/19 4:17:55 PM
#35:


Hexenherz posted...
. In the first presidential pardon of a convicted murderer in modern history

he enjoys being first in horrible competitions such as this

trump is a piece of shit.
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CADE FOSTER
11/18/19 4:19:38 PM
#36:


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Pogo_Marimo
11/18/19 4:21:57 PM
#37:


At least one of these people is going to end up murdering a girlfriend or a family member in the next ten years, mark my words. Then we're going to look back at this terrible fucking Presidency with new, but unsurprising hatred yet again.

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Antifar
11/18/19 4:23:28 PM
#38:


A persistent theme of the Trump administration is the idea that the powerful should have free reign over the vulnerable.

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DeadBankerDream
11/18/19 4:25:01 PM
#39:


Republicans veneer and masturbate to white bullies murdering brown people

More news at 11
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Zeeak4444
11/18/19 4:53:47 PM
#40:


Antifar posted...
A persistent theme of the Trump administration is the idea that the powerful should have free reign over the vulnerable.


Its pretty depressing that this is reality but this.
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#41
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Crazyman93
11/21/19 6:21:26 AM
#43:


JoeDangIt posted...
Hopefully these can be reversed.

Legally they'd probably have to charge him again, which would be illegal under double jeopardy.
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Malfunction
11/21/19 6:27:06 AM
#44:


Antifar posted...
Keep this in mind whenever people argue in favor of Trump's immigration policies. It's not really about the law and order.
Just chiming in to say that this is the case in other countries too. Conservatives in the UK are routinely performatively aghast at the idea of military personnel being charged with crimes in the Middle East and Ireland while also attacking immigrants and refugees on the regular under the guise of law and order.
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vigorm0rtis
11/21/19 6:32:50 AM
#45:


darkjedilink posted...
Gallagher was innocent, and set up by a corrupt JAG.

Is that why the Navy still doesn't want him?

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Hexenherz
11/21/19 5:42:15 PM
#46:


JoeDangIt posted...
Hopefully these can be reversed.


So, RADM Green is trying to at least get Gallagher's SEAL Trident (his Special Operator warfare device that a SEAL gets once... they become a SEAL) removed. Which is only fair, considering the guy was found purchasing illegal narcotics and has committed a whole slew of infractions against the UCMJ since this whole case started. But now Donald is trying to even interject into that conversation.

It's total bullshit.

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Ruvan22
11/21/19 9:34:33 PM
#47:


Hexenherz posted...
JoeDangIt posted...
Hopefully these can be reversed.


So, RADM Green is trying to at least get Gallagher's SEAL Trident (his Special Operator warfare device that a SEAL gets once... they become a SEAL) removed. Which is only fair, considering the guy was found purchasing illegal narcotics and has committed a whole slew of infractions against the UCMJ since this whole case started. But now Donald is trying to even interject into that conversation.

It's total bullshit.


Did Trump give a reasoning for his second interjection?
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Hexenherz
11/21/19 9:54:38 PM
#48:


Ruvan22 posted...
Did Trump give a reasoning for his second interjection?
He is trying to "defend" a decorated warfighter and Navy SEAL from being treated unfairly by Navy leadership after he totally fucked up the trial and then blamed it on said Navy leadership.

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darkjedilink
11/22/19 3:32:10 PM
#49:


Hexenherz posted...
JoeDangIt posted...
Hopefully these can be reversed.


So, RADM Green is trying to at least get Gallagher's SEAL Trident (his Special Operator warfare device that a SEAL gets once... they become a SEAL) removed. Which is only fair, considering the guy was found purchasing illegal narcotics and has committed a whole slew of infractions against the UCMJ since this whole case started. But now Donald is trying to even interject into that conversation.

It's total bullshit.

This is the first I've heard of Gallagher violating the UCMJ since this started.

His prosecutors, otoh....
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spudger
11/22/19 3:37:18 PM
#50:


Hexenherz posted...
Navy leadership

so he think he knows better than those who serve

fucking arrogant loser
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Bishop9800
11/22/19 4:08:21 PM
#51:


darkjedilink posted...


His prosecutors, otoh...


So do you have a source for this? Or, are you just running your mouth again?

(more likely the latter)

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Machete
11/22/19 4:12:28 PM
#52:


Those war criminals and trump should all get the death penalty for what they have done.
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