Trump Pardons 2 Army Officers Accused of War Crimes

Two Army officers convicted of war crimes were granted clemency by President Trump. This act also restored Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher to the rank of chief petty pfficer. According to Fox News, Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance “could be released from the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as soon as Friday evening, six years after being found guilty of second-degree murder.”

Lorance was six years into serving a 19-year prison sentence for ordering his soldiers to open fire on unarmed men in Afghanistan. On the other hand, the murder charge against Maj. Matt Golsteyn (whose trial was expected to begin next month) will be dropped. He was accused of the 2010 death of a suspected bombmaker.

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Supposedly in line for promotion, Gallagher was convicted of illegally posing with the corpse of a dead Islamic State (ISIS) fighter. He was demoted from the rank of chief petty officer to first-class petty officer.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) for Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) for Army Major Mathew Golsteyn, and an order directing the promotion of Special Warfare Operator First Class Edward R. Gallagher to the grade of E-7, the rank he held before he was tried and found not guilty of nearly all of the charges against him,” said the White House.