The wife of Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, the former Green Beret accused of the 2010 murder of a Taliban bomb-maker, said that a pardon from President Trump “would end the eight year long nightmare” her husband has been living since being investigated.
Julie Golsteyn was speaking to the Washington Examiner after reports Trump is reviewing several high-profile military criminal cases for potential pardons on Memorial Day. The Army announced last week it would take Golsteyn’s case to trial by court-martial on charges of premeditated murder.
“I was disappointed, but not surprised,” she said. “The people in charge have shown zero ability to make a sensible decision in Matt’s case [eight] years ago. We didn’t expect them to start now or ever — it is win at all costs for them. We can only expect lies and subterfuge at every step.”
She slammed the Army for pursuing charges against Golsteyn, 38, after he spoke about the incident during a 2011 job interview with the CIA. Golsteyn had been awarded a Silver Star for his bravery in 2010 but was stripped of it, along with a Special Forces tab, in 2015.
[Related: Trump’s Army murder pardon gives hope to others convicted of war crimes]
“[W]e haven’t heard anything from the [White House], but we would be very pleased,” Julie Golsteyn said and expressed the need for civilian intervention. “That is the only way Matt will get justice. My husband is heartbroken that the stewardship of the institution that he loves and has given so much to service has become riddled with corruption at the highest levels,” she said.
In 2010, Golsteyn’s 3rd Special Forces group was tasked with liberating Marjah in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, a Taliban opium production center. Dozens of troops were killed and hundreds wounded in the months-long battle.
In February, during the early stages of the battle, two Marines working with Golsteyn were killed by a bomb. A suspect was found and brought before a tribal elder who confirmed he was a Taliban member. Golsteyn was concerned he might jeopardize the safety of U.S. troops or the tribal elder.
It is at this point the Army’s and Golsteyn’s accounts differ. According to Golsteyn, he released the suspected bomb-maker and set up an ambush off the base in case he went toward the Taliban’s position. The suspect did so, at which point Golsteyn shot him dead. According to the Army, Golsteyn and another soldier took him off base, killed him, and buried him.
Golsteyn talked about the incident during a CIA polygraph interview. The Army opened an investigation but closed it two years later without charging him. The matter appeared settled until Golsteyn was interviewed by Fox News in 2016. When asked if he had killed the suspected bomb-maker, Golsteyn answered, “Yes.”
[Also read: It’s who you know: How a soldier convicted of murder got Trump to pardon him]
That statement prompted the Army to reopen the case and charge Golsteyn with premeditated murder.
In December, Trump tweeted: “At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a ‘U.S. military hero,’ Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bombmaker while overseas.”
Julie Golsteyn said the experience had taken a tremendous toll. The Golsteyn’s baby was two-and-a-half months old when they first learned of the charges last Christmas. She said the prosecution has “forever tarnished” their memories of their child’s birth.
“It is heart wrenching for our family and friends to see us and our children suffer through this absurdity,” she said. “It is painful to watch Matt explain to his 12-year-old son how the institution that he loves so much and served so well is out to destroy him in the name of retaliation and opportunism.”
Golsteyn has yet to go to trial, but Trump has the authority to pardon him beforehand.
