President Trump Pardons Army Lieutenant Charged With Murdering Prisoner

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Many Americans were shocked when Army Lieutenant Michael Behenna was charged with murdering a ‘prisoner’ during his time in Iraq.

President Trump has now issued him a pardon after a request from Attorney General Mike Hunter.

According to Breitbart:

President Donald Trump pardoned Army Lieutenant Michael Behenna, who was prosecuted and convicted of killing prisoner Ali Mansur Mohamed during his deployment in Iraq.

Behenna was convicted in 2009 of the unpremeditated murder of Mohamed, despite his claim that he acted in self-defense after Mohamed reached for his gun. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison but was released early on parole.

His pardon comes as a broader sign of support to our Military:

“Mr. Behenna’s case has attracted broad support from the military, Oklahoma elected officials, and the public,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement to reporters, noting that 37 military generals and admirals and a former Inspector General of the Department of Defense signed a brief in support of Mr. Behenna’s claim.

This harkens to the recent case of “a former Army commando has been charged with murder for allegedly hunting down an Afghan militant suspected in the killing of two Marines.”

According to this:

Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, a once-decorated Green Beret, tracked down the suspected terrorist in 2010 when the man was released from US custody after being detained for setting off explosion at a bazaar in the southern Afghan city of Marjah.

An Army Special Operations Command spokesman told Fox News on Friday that “sufficient evidence exists” to warrant charges against Golsteyn.

But the former commando’s lawyer said Golsteyn had been “betrayed” by the Army.

Golsteyn explained in a 2016 interview that he killed the suspect, who had been turned over by Afghans cooperating with the US, because the man was likely to cause more violence.

This case also caused mass frustration:

Family of slain Green Beret furious that comrade who killed suspect faces charges https://t.co/see381UU35

— Bill Flanagan (@BillFlanaganDCP) December 16, 2018

And like the the previous case, President Trump intervened:

At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a “U.S. Military hero,” Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas. @PeteHegseth @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2018

The concern with the case was that if THIS is what we do to the men who put their lives on the line for us, how can we expect good men and women to keep signing up for this?

His wife expressed that EXACT sentiment in an interview:

Julie Golsteyn said her husband is not a “cold-blooded murder” and argued that the Afghan man he killed was a “known enemy combatant” rather than a “suspected” bomb maker.

“The characterization of my husband that is out there is absolutely incongruent with the person he is,” Golsteyn said. “This is absolutely disgusting how they’re portraying him as a cold-blooded murderer.”

Julie Golsteyn also accused the Army of failing to protect its “good men,” noting its relatively light treatment of deserter Bowe Bergdahl and leaker Chelsea Manning.

“I would also just like to say that this is the Army of Manning and Bergdahl and if those are the kinds of people that we want in the Army, that’s what we’re gonna end up with, because who are we going to have in our ranks if this is what we do to our good men?” Golsteyn asked.

Exactly.