{"slug":"trump-first-term-war-criminal-pardons-gallagher","title":"War Criminal Pardons: Gallagher, Lorance, Golsteyn — Undermining Military Justice","date":"2019-11-15","lastUpdated":"2019-11-21","description":"In November 2019, Trump pardoned or restored the rank of three U.S. military service members who had been convicted of or charged with war crimes: Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, convicted of ordering the killing of unarmed Afghan civilians; Army Major Mathew Golsteyn, accused of killing an unarmed Afghan detainee; and Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher, convicted of posing with the corpse of a teenage ISIS prisoner and accused by multiple fellow SEALs of stabbing him while he was sedated. The pardons were opposed by the Pentagon, by military prosecutors, and by some of the SEALs who had reported Gallagher's conduct.","summary":"The Gallagher case was the most prominent: he had been reported by his own platoon members, who described him as 'freaking evil' and said they feared he would shoot civilians and colleagues. He was convicted by court-martial of posing with a corpse but acquitted of murder after a key prosecution witness changed his testimony. Trump followed the verdict by restoring Gallagher's rank and then, overriding Defense Secretary Esper's objections, blocking the Navy SEALs from removing Gallagher's Trident pin (the insignia of qualification). Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was fired after he sought a compromise with the White House outside normal channels. The pardons were condemned by military ethics experts as undermining the uniform code and the military's commitment to the laws of armed conflict.","category":"military-overreach","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/us/trump-pardons-war-crimes.html","title":"Trump Pardons Military Members in War Crimes Cases","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-pardons-three-service-members-accused-war-crimes/2019/11/15/story.html","title":"Trump pardons three service members accused or convicted of war crimes","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-gallagher-lorance-golsteyn-war-crimes-pardons","title":"Trump pardons soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/us/navy-seal-edward-gallagher.html","title":"Navy SEALs Reported a War Crime. Then Everything Went Wrong.","publisher":"The New York Times"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["war-crimes","pardons","Gallagher","Lorance","first-term","military-overreach","Geneva-Conventions","SEAL"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2019-05-07","title":"Trump signals potential Gallagher pardon — before trial","summary":"Trump intervenes in Gallagher's pre-trial confinement, ordering him moved to less restrictive conditions, signaling administration interest in the case before the court-martial verdict."},{"date":"2019-07-02","title":"Gallagher acquitted of murder — convicted of photograph","summary":"Eddie Gallagher is acquitted of murder and most charges after the prosecution's key witness changes his testimony in court. He is convicted of posing with the corpse of a prisoner — a lesser charge. The case draws significant attention."},{"date":"2019-11-15","title":"Trump pardons Lorance and Golsteyn — restores Gallagher's rank","summary":"Trump pardons Clint Lorance and Mathew Golsteyn, restores Eddie Gallagher's rank, and announces he will not allow the military to review Gallagher's SEAL status. Defense Secretary Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Milley have both raised concerns."},{"date":"2019-11-19","title":"Trump blocks SEAL review by tweet — fires Navy Secretary","summary":"Trump tweets that he will not allow the Navy to remove Gallagher's Trident pin. Navy Secretary Spencer is subsequently fired for negotiating outside normal channels with the White House. Esper carries out the firing."},{"date":"2019-11-21","title":"Military leadership expresses concerns publicly","summary":"Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Milley and others raise public concerns about the pardons' effects on military discipline and the laws of armed conflict. Esper states the pardons created a difficult situation for military leadership. SEAL community is divided."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"confirmed","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Geneva Conventions","article":"Common Article 3 / Geneva Convention IV","provision":"Prohibit murder, mutilation, and cruel treatment of persons taking no active part in hostilities; the pardons of individuals convicted or accused of such acts undermine U.S. obligations to enforce international humanitarian law within its own armed forces"},{"statute":"Uniform Code of Military Justice","article":"Articles 118, 134","provision":"Murder of prisoners and detainees is a crime under the UCMJ; Trump's pardons and interference with military proceedings subverted the military justice system that enforces these laws"}],"iccRelevance":true,"victims":"Afghan civilians killed by Lorance; the teenage ISIS prisoner allegedly killed by Gallagher while sedated; Afghan detainee allegedly killed by Golsteyn; SEALs and soldiers who reported the conduct and faced retaliation or disillusionment; the integrity of the laws of armed conflict and military justice","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; granted pardons to convicted and accused war criminals over the objections of the Defense Secretary, military prosecutors, and service members who reported the conduct; blocked SEAL review of Gallagher's Trident; fired the Navy Secretary when he sought compromise","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-11-21","summary":"Based on November 2019 pardons and Navy Secretary firing."}]}}