WaPo: Army Gen. Denies Special Forces Tab For Accused War Criminal Trump Pardoned

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 4:  Matt Golsteyn, 38, is a former special forces officer that is now being investigated for war crimes committed in Afghanistan. He is pictured in his Washington, DC office with his wife, Julie, 35, and their son Henry, 4 mos. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 4: Matt Golsteyn, 38, is a former special forces officer that is now being investigated for war crimes committed in Afghanistan. He is pictured in his Washington, DC office with his wife, J... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 4: Matt Golsteyn, 38, is a former special forces officer that is now being investigated for war crimes committed in Afghanistan. He is pictured in his Washington, DC office with his wife, Julie, 35, and their son Henry, 4 mos. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

An Army general reportedly refused to reinstate an accused war criminal’s Special Forces tab, despite President Donald Trump issuing a pardon for the man.

Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn was charged with murder after admitting in a 2016 Fox News interview that he killed a suspected Taliban bomb maker in 2010.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Lt. Gen. Francis M. Beaudette denied Golsteyn’s request last month to have his Special Forces tab reinstated.

Golsteyn, who pleaded not guilty, was facing a court martial for murder before Trump’s pardon. That came alongside two more interventions from Trump — one on behalf of the Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who was accused of stabbing to a death a teenage ISIS captive but ultimately only convicted of posing with the captive’s corpse, and the other for Clint Lorance, an Army lieutenant found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder in 2013.

The news about Golsteyn’s tab recalled a similar dispute over Gallagher’s Trident Pin, which marks one’s membership in the SEALs.

Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer reportedly offered the White House a guarantee that Gallagher would keep his pin if the White House did not interfere in a Navy review of the matter. Defense Secretary Mark Esper was not made aware of that offer, and fired Spencer when he was made aware of it.

Trump tweeted in Gallagher’s case that “The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin.” The President’s hasn’t tweeted similarly with regard to Golsteyn.

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: