Prez preps war crime pardons

Reprieve of SEAL, others

President Trump is preparing to pardon Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher and other members of the armed forces accused of war crimes, according to a published report.

In a sign he is considering making the pardons on or around Memorial Day, Trump asked the Justice Department to prepare the requisite paperwork, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Gallagher (inset), a special-operations officer, is slated to go to trial for allegedly stabbing a wounded prisoner of war to death in Iraq and shooting unarmed civilians in Afghanistan.

Trump recently ordered him transferred to a “less restrictive” prison. Republican lawmakers have called for Gallagher to be released before his trial.

According to the Times, the president is also moving to pardon Army Green Beret Mathew Golsteyn, who was accused of killing an unarmed person; Nicholas Slatten, a former security contractor found guilty of fatally shooting dozens of unarmed Iraqis; and a group of Marine snipers accused of defiling a Taliban fighter’s corpse.

In January, Rep. Duncan Hunter called on Trump to dismiss Gallagher’s case.

“Chief Gallagher stands accused of murder in the killing of a verified ISIS combatant in a war zone based on inconsistent testimony and without any physical evidence,” said Hunter (R-Calif.).

“It is important to remember that this ISIS combatant was engaged in an extensive firefight with Chief Gallagher’s team and was already significantly injured when captured. No credible evidence has been provided that this ISIS fighter was murdered as opposed to dying from his terrorist actions.”

The White House requested the Justice Department get going on the pardons on Friday, the Times reported, citing an unidentified military official.