Uproar Over Trump’s Pardon Of A US Soldier Convicted Of Killing Iraqi Man

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before pardoning the National Thanksgiving Turkey, ‘Peas,’ in the Rose Garden at the White House, in Washington, DC., on Tuesday November 20, 2018. Following the presidential pardon, Peas will join Carrots, the other pardoned turkey, at Virginia Tech’s "Gobblers Rest" exhibit in Blacksburg, Virginia.(Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before pardoning the National Thanksgiving Turkey, Peas, in the Rose Garden at the White House, in Washington, DC., on Tuesday November 20, 2018. Following the presidential pardon, ... U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before pardoning the National Thanksgiving Turkey, Peas, in the Rose Garden at the White House, in Washington, DC., on Tuesday November 20, 2018. Following the presidential pardon, Peas will join Carrots, the other pardoned turkey, at Virginia Techs "Gobblers Rest" exhibit in Blacksburg, Virginia.(Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned former Army Lt. Michael Behenna, who was convicted of killing an Iraqi man. Some military and legal voices on Twitter are in an uproar.

Behenna was convicted in 2009 for killing an Iraqi prisoner after allegedly stripping him naked and torturing him. Behenna maintains that he acted out of self defense.

He was initially sentenced to 25 years in jail, but was released on parole in 2014.

From an Army officer:

From a Harvard Law professor:

From the director of the ACLU:

From a former GTMO prosecutor and national security specialist:

From a DOD reporter and Marine veteran:

Trump is no stranger to controversial pardons. Among those he’s issued so far is one for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who refused to obey a court order telling him to stop profiling Latinos and Dinesh D’Souza, an ardent Trump fan who broke campaign finance laws. Incidentally, a group of Democrats just asked a federal appeals court Monday to overturn Trump’s pardon of Arpaio.

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  1. His base likes it, so …

    The Guardian covered it earlier today

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/07/trump-pardon-us-soldier-michael-behenna-iraq
    Behenna’s case attracted broad support from the military, Oklahoma elected officials and the public, Sanders said. She added that Behenna was a model prisoner while serving his sentence, and “in light of these facts, Mr Behenna is entirely deserving” of the pardon.

    Oklahoma’s two Republican senators, James Lankford and Jim Inhofe, hailed the pardon, thanking Trump for giving Behenna “a clean slate”.

    Behenna, a native of the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, said the man moved toward him and he shot him because Behenna thought he would try to take his gun.

    Oklahoma’s attorney general first requested a pardon for Behenna in February 2018 and renewed his request last month.

    “Clean Slate” ? Only Lankford and Imhofe (the snowball guy) can believe that killing a prisoner is not a cowardly act. Behenna will have to walk through life with that stamped on his back

  2. That was my first thought also.

  3. He’s building precedents for more crazy things to come.

  4. Doubtless one day someone will go rogue and kill a person or persons at the southern border, to be later pardond by Trump.

  5. Pardoning regular criminals is a gateway to pardoning war criminals.

    ( also he’s, ya know - white)

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