The parents of a former Special Forces officer charged last week with murdering a suspected Taliban bomb-maker eight years ago, say their son did nothing wrong and has already been unfairly punished by the Army after an extensive investigation in 2015.
“Matt broke no code. That was proven in the board of inquiry,” said his mother, Nancy Golsteyn, in an interview on CNN Tuesday.
“Everyone that has testified for him has said that he is honorable and has never committed any crime,” she said, “And he was working within the rules of engagement when this incident occurred, and the Afghans interviewed at the time all testified to that.”
Her son, Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, admitted to killing the Taliban suspect during a polygraph examination during a CIA job interview in 2010, and then again during a Fox News interview in 2016.
The Army recalled the former Green Beret to active duty last week to charge him with one count of murder.
The charges came as a shock to his parents, who had already seen him punished by the Army in an administrative hearing in 2015.
“They had the CIA report, and the conclusion was he followed protocol, and he was found not guilty of any action — any dishonorable action by that nature,” said his father, Jerry Golsteyn. “So, nothing has really changed, and that’s what makes it kind of a surprise that we’re going around this road again because the information has already been looked at and decided upon.”
“He went through a lot of things that are just now coming out: Having his Silver Star taken from him and being denied the Distinguished Service Cross. Being removed from Special Forces taking — having his tab taken away with no due process,” said his mother Nancy.
“Jerry and I sat through those six days of grueling Army board of inquiry. We watched men testify, weeping about his saving of lives, not only American but Afghan lives,” she said.
“We saw his Marine chain of command, not the Army chain of command, but the Marine chain of command defend him during the board. We watched NATO legal experts say he committed no war crime. And we also saw a CID lead detective exposed to being a liar.”
One point of contention is whether the suspected bomb-maker was in custody of the U.S. military when he was killed, which would be a violation of the law of armed conflict.
Summary execution of captured prisoners is a war crime.
But both parents insisted the Taliban man was not in detention at the time he was killed. “They had released him. He was no longer a detainee,” said Nancy.
While legal experts say that President Trump’s decision to review the case of Golsteyn, who he called “a U.S. military hero,” could violate a military judicial principle known as “undue command influence,” Golsteyn’s father says he welcomes the presidential intervention.
“I don’t know what the implications might be as far as the law is concerned. But he is the commander in chief,” said Jerry. “If he feels that action is not being taken in the proper way as he learns more about this situation, we are in favor of him doing whatever he feels is necessary. So, we would encourage his involvement.”
Trump has the power to pardon Golsteyn before he goes to a pre-trial hearing currently scheduled for next year.
