Two GOP lawmakers appeared at Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller’s court-martial hearing, where he pleaded guilty to various charges amounting to insubordination.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, both of whom have previously signaled their support for the Marine facing charges for criticizing military leaders for the execution of the Afghan withdrawal, were featured at his hearing on Thursday.
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Scheller, who is a 17-year infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, gained notoriety for criticizing U.S. military leaders for the Afghan withdrawal. He shared the first of his viral videos the day after an ISIS-K terrorist killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan allies outside the Kabul airport where the evacuation efforts were occurring.
“The reason people are so upset on social media right now is not because the Marines on the battlefield let someone down,” Scheller said in his first of the viral videos back in August. “People are upset because their senior leaders let them down. And none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying, ‘We messed this up.’”
Greene defended Scheller, telling the Washington Examiner in an interview that the Biden administration and military leaders have earned the criticism that Scheller shared. She offered a direct rebuke of Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for his actions toward the end of the Trump administration.
The Georgia lawmaker said she was asked during the hearing if she agreed with the sentiment that “we need honest and open critique of the Afghanistan withdrawal and why, and absolutely, we need to have a critique of the withdrawal because the military leaders failed, and Joe Biden, he failed not only our military, but he failed our country, and he failed the families of the 13 soldiers that were killed.”
“I think he is showing true honor. He is pleading guilty for the charges because he willingly did it,” Greene said. “He was the only brave person in the military that willingly spoke out. And so, his guilty charge doesn’t mean that he’s bad or he’s wrong somehow. It’s that he still has courage, and he’s bravely facing what he’s going through. That’s what that guilty charge really means.”
A spokesperson with Gohmert’s office told the Washington Examiner that he “was there in person, and we haven’t spoken with him.”
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Scheller was charged with the following under the Uniform Code of Military Justice regulations: Article 88 (contempt toward officials), Article 89 (disrespect toward superior commissioned officers), Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer), Article 92 (dereliction in the performance of duties), Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation), and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman).
He was relieved of his command at one of the base’s infantry training battalions after the first video went viral. Even though he was warned about the post, the lieutenant colonel continued to post similar videos, saying he’s “ready for jail” on Sept. 25.
Scheller will forfeit more than $2 million in retirement pay and is seeking an honorable discharge, his attorney, Tim Parlatore, told NBC News.
