CNN is reporting that Defense Secretary Mark Esper is planning to urge President Donald Trump not to intervene in the cases of U.S. soldiers facing war crimes allegations. Trump has already ordered a review of the charges against Army Lieutenant Clint Lorance and Army Green Beret Major Mathew Golsteyn. Clint Lorance is serving a 19-year murder sentence in the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for ordering soldiers to open fire on unarmed Afghan motorcyclists in 2012. Mathew Golsteyn is facing murder charges related to the 2010 killing of an alleged Afghan bombmaker. He reportedly told CIA interviewers he had shot the unarmed man and then destroyed his body in a burn pit on the military base. Trump is also reportedly considering restoring the rank of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher. Gallagher has been accused of multiple war crimes, including shooting two Iraqi civilians and fatally stabbing a captive teenager in the neck. A California jury acquitted him of murder charges in July.
Esper to Urge Trump Not to Intervene in Cases of Soldiers Accused of Murder
HeadlineNov 07, 2019
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