President Trump defended a former Green Beret charged with murdering a suspected Taliban bomb-maker, announcing that the White House is reviewing the case.
“The case of Major Mathew Golsteyn is now under review at the White House,” the president tweeted on Saturday. “Mathew is a highly decorated Green Beret who is being tried for killing a Taliban bombmaker. We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill!”
The case of Major Mathew Golsteyn is now under review at the White House. Mathew is a highly decorated Green Beret who is being tried for killing a Taliban bombmaker. We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill! @PeteHegseth
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2019
Maj. Mathew Golsteyn is charged with committing the premeditated murder of an Afghan man he believed was a Taliban bomb-maker in 2010 when he was deployed in Afghanistan. He first disclosed the shooting in 2011 during a CIA polygraph test while he was applying for a job with the agency. The Army then investigated the incident, but it closed the case with no charges.
He later publicly admitted to the killing during a 2016 appearance on Fox News, two years after he was given an official reprimand, which reopened the case.
In 2018, Golsteyn was formally charged with premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death. In July, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorney has since claimed the military’s “secretive” prosecution is denying his client his constitutional rights. Trump has considered pardoning him but has not yet made a decision.
