President Donald Trump touted the records to allow several service members accused of war crimes during his first term as president, and shared details about how the current Secretary of Defense played a role in securing these pardons.
Trump told audiences in an interview Thursday that Hegses would appeal to him to defend on behalf of service members who face alleged war crimes that he “doesn't trained to do” during his first administration.
“What he wanted to talk about was military,” Trump said of Heggs. “In fact, whenever he called me, it was to always get people in need because he was offensively offensive from prison. You know, they did what they were trained and so we got a lot of soldiers from prison.”
Secdef Hegseth responds to rumors that he drafted a “list” of military officials to purge
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses will walk with British Secretary of Defense John Healy before a bilateral meeting with bystanders of the NATO Ministers' Conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on February 12th. (Johanna Geron/Pool Photo via AP)
In November 2019, during his first administration, Trump issued amnesty to the first Army Lt. Col. Clint Lt. Lt. Col. Matthew Golstein and Navy Special Warfare activist Chief Eddie Gallagher. Lorance had sentenced an unarmed Afghan civilian to 19 years in prison at the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2012, when Trump issued an amnesty and sentenced unarmed Afghan civilians to cause soldiers to fire.
Golstein was also faced with charges of killing a Taliban bomb maker in 2010 and then burning the body in the pit.
Gallagher also faced murder charges for stabbing a prisoner in Islamic State in 2017 and was acquitted in July 2019. However, he was found guilty of posing in a photo next to the body and later came first. Trump's pardon has brought him back to his previous ranks.
“The Liberals in the military put them in prison,” Trump told audiences. “They teach him to become a soldier. They teach him to kill bad people, and when they kill bad people, they want them to be in prison for 30 years. And Pete was really into it.”
Hegses, a former Fox News host and member of the US Army National Guard, had spoken out about these incidents prior to their pardon. Hegseth also interviewed Golsteyn in May 2019 on “Fox & Friends.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses arrives at Guantamo Bay and calls it the “frontline of war” on the southern border
Pete Hegses appeared in January before the Senate Armed Services Committee for a confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Defense. (Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Department of Defense has digitally commented on Fox News to the White House. The White House did not provide additional comment. It is unclear whether the Trump administration is considering pardoning other service members accused of war crimes.
During a January confirmation hearing for the Secretary of Defense, Hegses told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee that he wanted to “not be an intruder” to “get in the way” of service members serving at Frontline who have “opportunities to destroy the enemy.”
“We follow the rules, but we don't need the burdensome engagement rules to make it impossible for us to win these wars,” Heggs said.
The lawmaker cited Hegses' comments on the case under confirmation hearing, and Dr. Jack Reed, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said fellow service members who served alongside Lorrance and Gallagher opposed them and reported their actions.
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“They fulfilled their duties as soldiers to report war crimes,” Reid said in January. “Your definition of lethality seems to accept people who commit war crimes, not those who say, 'This is not right.' ”
Hegus served as an infantry officer for the US Army National Guard and completed his deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan and Iraq.
He won two Bronze Star Medals and was awarded to those who showed heroic achievements and services in the combat zone.
