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Trump issues at least two pardons to service members

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  • Trump issues at least two pardons to service members

    Trump issues at least two pardons to service members

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump intervened in three cases involving war-crimes accusations Friday, issuing full pardons to two U.S. soldiers and reversing disciplinary action against a Navy SEAL despite opposition raised by military justice experts and some senior Pentagon officials.

    The White House said in a statement Friday night that Trump, as commander in chief, is "ultimately responsible for ensuring that the law is enforced and when appropriate, that mercy is granted."

    "For more than two hundred years, presidents have used their authority to offer second chances to deserving individuals, including those in uniform who have served our country," the statement said.

    The service members were notified by Trump over the phone late Friday afternoon, according to lawyers for Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn and former Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL. Golsteyn faced a murder trial scheduled for next year, while Gallagher recently was acquitted of murder and convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter in Iraq.

    The third service member, former Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, was expected to be released Friday night from prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 and sentenced to 19 years for ordering his soldiers to open fire on three men in Afghanistan.

    Golsteyn and Lorance received full pardons, while the president will direct the Navy to restore Gallagher to his previous rank before he retires, the White House said. His demotion marked the only significant penalty he received following his acquittal on the murder charge.
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

  • #2
    Hmmm.. Meh.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Leonhard View Post
      Hmmm.. Meh.
      Still looking at this.

      On the one hand, it rankles the chain of command, as the military as their own legal processes in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

      On the other hand, Trump, as Commander in Chief, is head of that process, and has the right to override cases.

      On the third hand, under Obama, there had been changes to the Rules of Engagement that, in a number of cases, put our soldiers at risk, or at least caused confusion.

      Under Trump, Rules of Engagement were cleared up.

      If we send soldiers to war, they need to know we're going to stand behind them, but we can't give them the impression they can get away with war crimes.
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #4
        If I were Trump and I was really "playing 4-d chess" and I was strategically creating political chaos on the left, I'd issue a pardon to Bradley/Chelsea Manning just to expose the double standard and hypocrisy of the left, because you KNOW they'll find a way to chastise him for it. Assange has been thrown completely under the bus by the left because of what he did to Hillary, but Manning is still basically their whistleblower darling.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
          Trump issues at least two pardons to service members

          WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump intervened in three cases involving war-crimes accusations Friday, issuing full pardons to two U.S. soldiers and reversing disciplinary action against a Navy SEAL despite opposition raised by military justice experts and some senior Pentagon officials.

          The White House said in a statement Friday night that Trump, as commander in chief, is "ultimately responsible for ensuring that the law is enforced and when appropriate, that mercy is granted."

          "For more than two hundred years, presidents have used their authority to offer second chances to deserving individuals, including those in uniform who have served our country," the statement said.

          The service members were notified by Trump over the phone late Friday afternoon, according to lawyers for Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn and former Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL. Golsteyn faced a murder trial scheduled for next year, while Gallagher recently was acquitted of murder and convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter in Iraq.

          The third service member, former Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, was expected to be released Friday night from prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 and sentenced to 19 years for ordering his soldiers to open fire on three men in Afghanistan.

          Golsteyn and Lorance received full pardons, while the president will direct the Navy to restore Gallagher to his previous rank before he retires, the White House said. His demotion marked the only significant penalty he received following his acquittal on the murder charge.
          . . . convicted of serious crimes by military courts.
          Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
          Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
          But will they come when you do call for them? Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, Act III:

          go with the flow the river knows . . .

          Frank

          I do not know, therefore everything is in pencil.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by shunyadragon View Post
            . . . convicted of serious crimes by military courts.
            Yes, do you know the backgrounds and details? You're surely aware that, even in civilian criminal courts, people are often wrongly convicted?
            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

            Comment


            • #7
              I like that Trump is willing to intervene - I just don't know anything about these specific cases.
              "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

              "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

              My Personal Blog

              My Novella blog (Current Novella Begins on 7/25/14)

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Teallaura View Post
                I like that Trump is willing to intervene - I just don't know anything about these specific cases.
                I'm still digging into it, but it seems part of it was that in one case, exculpatory evidence was not allowed to be presented in defense, and in an other, the JAG lawyer serving as defense was not nearly as competent as the JAG lawyer tasked with prosecution.

                In both cases, it seems, it had to do with Rules of Engagement which were much more fluid than they should be.

                When a soldier goes to war, he ought to know exactly what is expected of him, and simply changing the Rules of Engagement "at the top" doesn't immediately filter down to the battlefield, and can be quite confusing in the time of war.
                The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                  Trump issues at least two pardons to service members

                  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump intervened in three cases involving war-crimes accusations Friday, issuing full pardons to two U.S. soldiers and reversing disciplinary action against a Navy SEAL despite opposition raised by military justice experts and some senior Pentagon officials.

                  The White House said in a statement Friday night that Trump, as commander in chief, is "ultimately responsible for ensuring that the law is enforced and when appropriate, that mercy is granted."

                  "For more than two hundred years, presidents have used their authority to offer second chances to deserving individuals, including those in uniform who have served our country," the statement said.

                  The service members were notified by Trump over the phone late Friday afternoon, according to lawyers for Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn and former Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL. Golsteyn faced a murder trial scheduled for next year, while Gallagher recently was acquitted of murder and convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter in Iraq.

                  The third service member, former Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, was expected to be released Friday night from prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 and sentenced to 19 years for ordering his soldiers to open fire on three men in Afghanistan.

                  Golsteyn and Lorance received full pardons, while the president will direct the Navy to restore Gallagher to his previous rank before he retires, the White House said. His demotion marked the only significant penalty he received following his acquittal on the murder charge.
                  Trump couldn't care less one way or the other, he's trying to deflect from his impeachment.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by JimL View Post
                    Trump couldn't care less one way or the other, he's trying to deflect from his impeachment.
                    If so, he's doing the Dems a favor. Now there are allegations against another witness.
                    "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

                    "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

                    My Personal Blog

                    My Novella blog (Current Novella Begins on 7/25/14)

                    Quill Sword

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by JimL View Post
                      Trump couldn't care less one way or the other, he's trying to deflect from his impeachment.
                      While you seethe in your hatred of Trump and use this as a cheap attack, the families of the soldiers who actually served are extremely grateful, and thanked him profusely.

                      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by shunyadragon View Post
                        . . . convicted of serious crimes by military courts.
                        So what? Practically speaking, no different from a Presidential pardon of any conviction, no matter how serious, in civilian Federal courts.
                        Geislerminian Antinomian Kenotic Charispneumaticostal Gender Mutualist-Egalitarian.

                        Beige Federalist.

                        Nationalist Christian.

                        "Everybody is somebody's heretic."

                        Social Justice is usually the opposite of actual justice.

                        Proud member of the this space left blank community.

                        Would-be Grand Vizier of the Padishah Maxi-Super-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-MAGA King Trumpius Rex.

                        Justice for Ashli Babbitt!

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                        Arrest Ray Epps and his Fed bosses!

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Teallaura View Post
                          If so, he's doing the Dems a favor. Now there are allegations against another witness.
                          Linky?

                          I'm always still in trouble again

                          "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                            While you seethe in your hatred of Trump and use this as a cheap attack, the families of the soldiers who actually served are extremely grateful, and thanked him profusely.

                            Of course the family members are grateful, what a silly argument for a pardon. They are convicted murderers, pardoned only because they are military, for political reasons. That's how Trump operates.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                              Yes, do you know the backgrounds and details? You're surely aware that, even in civilian criminal courts, people are often wrongly convicted?
                              Yes, I know the details, and yes the trials were carried out with due process and accepted military legal procedures. I believe he should let the military system of justice be accepted and follow the legal course based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice in the military.
                              Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
                              Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
                              But will they come when you do call for them? Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, Act III:

                              go with the flow the river knows . . .

                              Frank

                              I do not know, therefore everything is in pencil.

                              Comment

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