It’s Springtime for War Crimes in Trumpland
The class of people the current administration has elected to shield now includes those accused of war crimes. This fits right in with the upside down view of the world prevalent in Trumpland: Evangelical Christians are persecuted by Gay Rights advocates, the Federal Bureau of Investigation are criminals, refugee families are MS 13 infiltrators, and now, bad actors on the battlefield are actually heroes.
According to the New York Times, President Donald Trump has asked for files to be prepared for the purpose of pardoning several US military members accused of or convicted of war crimes. The Department of Justice has pressed the Navy to have the paperwork -which normally takes months to process-- completed in time for the Memorial Day weekend, according to an official quoted in the story.
One of those files is for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy Seals, currently in custody awaiting trial at Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park.
Gallagher is accused of killing a teenage Islamic State fighter under his care and then holding his reenlistment ceremony with the corpse. Navy prosecutors also accuse him of shooting two civilians in Iraq and opening fire on crowds. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
From earlier reporting at the Times:
"Navy SEAL commandos from Team 7’s Alpha Platoon said they had seen their highly decorated platoon chief commit shocking acts in Iraq. And they had spoken up, repeatedly. But their frustration grew as months passed and they saw no sign of official action.
"Tired of being brushed off, seven members of the platoon called a private meeting with their troop commander in March 2018 at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego. According to a confidential Navy criminal investigation report obtained by The New York Times, they gave him the bloody details and asked for a formal investigation.
"But instead of launching an investigation that day, the troop commander and his senior enlisted aide — both longtime comrades of the accused platoon leader, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher — warned the seven platoon members that speaking out could cost them and others their careers, according to the report."
Prosecutors have said Gallagher attempted to intimidate witnesses upon learning he was being investigated. Recently, it was revealed that Gallagher is at the center of another investigation, this time in the shooting death of a goat herder in Afghanistan in 2010.
The President has increasingly expressed interest in such cases, which have become causes célèbre among Republicans along with Fox News and other right wing media. A group of congressmen, including U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, have taken up Gallagher’s cause.
Earlier this month Trump pardoned Matthew Behenna, a former US soldier who was convicted in 2009 of killing an Iraqi prisoner.
Gallagher's supporters staged a fundraiser recently to raise money to help with his legal battle. Speakers at the University Heights event included Gallagher's wife Andrea, and New York's 9/11 police commissioner.
From Fox 5 News:
“They have a job to do. Let them do their damn job. Let them go and kill the enemy and leave them alone. Reward them for doing their job,” retired police commissioner Bernard Kerik said.
“The allegations have no evidence on most of these charges, or the evidence is exculpatory. It’s the exact opposite of what’s been put out in these narratives. So you’re building a case on cobbled up lies, fabrications and rumors,” Andrea Gallagher said.
What Fox didn’t cover was the unsavory side the fundraiser’s primary speaker. I reported on Kerik several weeks ago:
In 2006 Kerik pled guilty to charges of receiving $165,000 in gifts from a New Jersey construction firm, Interstate Industrial Corp., a company alleged to have ties to organized crime.
Federal charges involving corruption, tax evasion, aiding the filing of false returns and making false statements while applying for a housing loan followed. In 2009, he pled guilty to eight felony charges and was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
After serving 36 months and being released early for good behavior, Kerik went on to publish a book about his experiences as inmate #84888-054 and the need for criminal justice reform.
More recently he made the news for walking off a set on CNN, claiming the network was “politicizing” its coverage of mail bombs sent to top Democratic Party figures.
The NY Times report cites legal experts saying pardoning several accused and convicted war criminals, including some who have not yet gone to trial, has not been done in recent history.
Thank you, Shawn, for calling it like it is:
https://twitter.com/shawnjvandiver/status/1129868779595296770
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Email me at DougPorter@WordsAndDeedsBlog.com