Archiv: Begnadigungen / pardons


14.06.2023 - 11:04 [ System Update / Nitter ]

ON WHISTLEBLOWERS: Would @RobertKennedyJr pardon @Snowden and Assange? „I would put a statue of Snowden in Washington… how are you making this guy a criminal? He‘s an American hero… Assange, I‘m gonna pardon on day one. It‘s insane. He‘s effectively a newspaper publisher.“

Full interview:

04.12.2022 - 19:58 [ Elon Musk / Nitter ]

I am not expressing an opinion, but did promise to conduct this poll. Should Assange and Snowden be pardoned?

28.08.2022 - 16:22 [ ABC.net.au ]

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange files latest appeal in bid to stop extradition to United States

Julian Assange‘s legal team has filed an appeal to Britain‘s High Court in an effort to thwart his extradition to the United States to face espionage charges.

British Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder in June after he was denied an appeal in the Supreme Court appeal back in March.

05.07.2021 - 17:07 [ theHill.com ]

Marianne Williamson calls on Biden to drop efforts to extradite Assange

Former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson told Hill.TV that the Biden administration should drop its efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom.

Williamson said Assange should not be punished for releasing information on WikiLeaks that provided details on „the U.S. war machine.“

23.12.2020 - 18:19 [ theGuardian.com ]

Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians

Also quoted in the memorandum was David Boslego, a retired US army colonel, who said the massacre was “a grossly excessive use of force” and “grossly inappropriate for an entity whose only job was to provide personal protection to somebody in an armoured vehicle”.

02.12.2020 - 05:07 [ CNN ]

Trump associates, including Giuliani, are asking for pardons

Giuliani denied discussing a preemptive pardon with the President, telling CNN that the „(New York) Times is completely wrong.“ He further denied he has talked to anyone at the White House about a pardon for himself.

The New York Times first reported that Giuliani was discussing a pardon with the President.

26.11.2020 - 00:44 [ NBC News ]

Defense lawyers rail about unfair prosecutions. Flynn’s case shows why.

(09.05.2020)

Sometimes federal agents are criticized for „creating“ a crime instead of investigating one. Sting operations are examples of crimes that are a consequence of law enforcement actions. Agents create a fictional crime to trick a suspect into attempting to join that crime, thereby creating the crime.

Similarly, Flynn’s crime of lying to government agents was the consequence of the government agents‘ investigation of Flynn. If there was no crime before Flynn‘s interview, then there‘s little reason to interview Flynn as part of a criminal investigation, unless the agents were looking to create a crime.

26.11.2020 - 00:40 [ CNN ]

Trump announces pardon for Michael Flynn in tweet

President Donald Trump announced in a tweet Wednesday that he has granted his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, a „full pardon,“ wiping away the guilty plea of the intelligence official, lobbyist and conservative fringe darling for lying to the FBI.

24.11.2020 - 21:59 [ Glenn Greenwald / Twitter ]

A Trump pardon of Snowden & Assange would be historic on so many levels. It would cause civil liberties groups, press freedom groups & leaders from around the world to praise him. He‘d be the first President willing to confront the Deep State since Eisenhower‘s Farewell Address.

18.08.2020 - 14:48 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Steinmeier schweigt zu Begnadigungen

US-Präsident Trump prüft eine Begnadigung von Whistleblower Snowden. In Deutschland sind solche Akte wenig transparent – ob Bundespräsident Steinmeier schon jemanden begnadigt hat, bleibt geheim.

16.08.2020 - 06:49 [ Glenn Greenwald / Twitter ]

National Security apparatchiks like @AmbassadorRice (no longer an Ambassador) have wanted Snowden in prison for years because he exposed how they secretly and illegally converted the internet into their spying playground. As for her claim that pardoning Snowden is a GOP view:

16.08.2020 - 06:29 [ Cenk Uygur / Twitter ]

Wow. I agree. Do you believe in miracles? The more you take money out of the equation, the more the left and right-wing can agree. We should end Snowden‘s absurd exile. He‘s an American hero.

16.08.2020 - 06:15 [ Thomas Massie, Abgeordneter im US Repräsentantenhaus / Twitter ]

Employees of the US government violated the Constitution and lied to Congress and the American people about it. @Snowden exposed them. This is bigger than him. If he’s punished for his service to the Constitution, there will be more violations of the Constitution, and more lies.

16.08.2020 - 05:53 [ USA Today ]

Trump says he will look ‚very strongly‘ at granting pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden

In the interview, Trump justified talk of a pardon by again complaining about an FBI investigation into links between his campaign and Russians who sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. He said it was unfair that people like ex-FBI Director James Comey are free while Snowden is in legal limbo.

16.08.2020 - 05:47 [ Tagesschau.de ]

US-Whistleblower im Exil: Trump will Begnadigung von Snowden prüfen

Er sei nicht besonders vertraut mit der Angelegenheit, räumte Trump bei einer Pressekonferenz in seinem Golfclub in Bedminster ein. „Aber ich werde mir das ansehen“, so Trump auf die Frage eines Journalisten.

28.12.2019 - 19:09 [ The Hill ]

Navy SEALs who turned in Gallagher: He is ‚freaking evil‘

“Tell the truth, don’t lie or embellish,” one member told the others in a group text in 2017, when they first reportedly tried to report the chief. “That way, he can’t say that we slandered him in any way.”

28.12.2019 - 19:05 [ CBS News / Youtube ]

Fellow Navy SEALs slam former chief Edward Gallagher in newly released video

Video obtained by The New York Times shows members of SEAL Team 7 criticizing their former platoon chief Edward Gallagher, who was accused of murdering a teenage ISIS member. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin joined CBSN with the latest details.

28.12.2019 - 14:47 [ The Young Turks / Youtube ]

Leaked Video of SEALs Calling Eddie Gallagher „Evil“

Gallagher‘s war crimes case gained national attention after President Donald Trump controversially intervened on his behalf, ignoring Pentagon leaders who had told the President such a move could damage the integrity of the military judicial system.
„The guy is freaking evil,“ Special Operator First Class Craig Miller said of Gallagher during his interview with Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, the Times reported.“

Hosts: Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola, John Fugelsang

28.12.2019 - 14:39 [ The Weekly ‏/ Twitter ]

“Nobody touch him. He’s mine.” Navy SEAL videos and text messages reveal why some of Chief Edward Gallagher’s own men were upset about his actions in Iraq.

28.12.2019 - 14:32 [ The Weekly ‏/ Twitter ]

A new documentary from #TheWeeklyNYT now on @Hulu: Videos reveal new details about the case of Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL accused by his own men of war crimes and whose defenders include President Trump.

Also watch this Sunday on @FXNetworks.

27.12.2019 - 14:57 [ New York Times ]

Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALS Who Turned In Edward Gallagher

Asked whether the chief had a bias against Middle Eastern people, Special Operator Scott replied, “I think he just wants to kill anybody he can.”

Some of the SEALs said they came to believe that the chief was purposefully exposing them to enemy fire to bait ISIS fighters into revealing their positions. They said the chief thought that casualties in the platoon would increase his chances for a Silver Star.

28.11.2019 - 21:48 [ Washington Post ]

Richard Spencer: I was fired as Navy secretary. Here’s what I’ve learned because of it.

President Trump involved himself in the case almost from the start. Before the trial began, in March, I received two calls from the president asking me to lift Gallagher’s confinement in a Navy brig; I pushed back twice, because the presiding judge, acting on information about the accused’s conduct, had decided that confinement was important. Eventually, the president ordered me to have him transferred to the equivalent of an enlisted barracks. I came to believe that Trump’s interest in the case stemmed partly from the way the defendant’s lawyers and others had worked to keep it front and center in the media.

25.11.2019 - 18:57 [ ORF.at ]

Navy-SEALs-Affäre: US-Marine-Chef im Streit gefeuert

Der Marinestaatssekretär kam der Rücktrittsaufforderung wenig später nach. In einem im US-Medien veröffentlichten Brief begründete er seinen Rückzug damit, dass er und Trump nicht mehr dasselbe Verständnis von Ordnung und Disziplin hätten und er nicht guten Gewissens einem Befehl folgen könne, der den „heiligen Eid“ zum Schutz der Verfassung der USA verletze.

25.11.2019 - 18:51 [ LA Times ]

Defense secretary says Trump ordered him to allow SEAL to keep status

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that President Trump gave him a direct order to allow a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes to retire without losing his SEAL status.

Esper told reporters at the Pentagon that Trump’s verbal order was the reason Esper announced Sunday that Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher would be allowed to retire with his trident pin, retaining his status as a SEAL.

25.11.2019 - 18:47 [ theHill.com ]

Defense secretary fires Navy chief over SEAL war crimes case

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday asked for the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer over his handling of a controversial war crimes case.

Esper told The Washington Post in a statement Sunday that he was „deeply troubled“ by reports that Spencer had reached out to White House officials promising that an accused Navy SEAL would be allowed to retire as a SEAL despite his conviction for posing with the corpse of a slain enemy combatant.

16.11.2019 - 11:32 [ Wikipedia ]

Clint Lorance

At his trial in August 2013, nine members of his platoon testified against him.[5] Lorance never testified in the court hearings, though he did take responsibility for his men‘s actions. Three men on a motorcycle were speeding towards the platoon and ignoring commands to stop.[5] His soldiers testified that the platoon was walking through a field of grapes on patrol when a motorcycle was spotted approximately 600 feet away, and that the motorcycle could not have reached the platoon‘s position in the grape field.

16.11.2019 - 11:22 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Green Beret charged with murder after confessing to killing Afghan man in TV interview

(14.12.2018)

But according to documents seen by NBC, Major Golsteyn told army investigators that he and his fellow soldiers were doing house-to-house searches when they found bomb-making materials they suspected were used in the attack on the Marines.

The soldiers took a local man who they believed was responsible for the materials into custody and brought him to the army base, from where he was later released.

It is unclear if this was because there was insufficient evidence to detain him. Military documents state that Major Golsteyn and another soldier returned the man to his home but instead of releasing him the major fatally shot the man and buried his body, NBC reported.

The documents seen by the news organisation do not include Major Golsteyn‘s explanation for killing the man but refer to the incident as an „assassination“.

16.11.2019 - 10:58 [ Wikipedia ]

Eddie Gallagher (Navy SEAL)

A captured young fighter of the Islamic State (also known as ISIL, ISIS, and Daesh) was being treated by a medic. According to two SEAL witnesses, Gallagher said over the radio „he‘s mine“ and walked up to the medic and prisoner, and without saying a word killed the prisoner by stabbing him repeatedly with his hunting knife. Gallagher and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Jake Portier, then posed for photos of them standing over the body with some other nearby SEALs. Gallagher then text messaged a fellow SEAL a picture of the dead captive with the explanation „Good story behind this, got him with my hunting knife.”[5]

Another accusation was that Gallagher‘s sniper work during his 2017 deployment became indiscriminate, reckless, and bloodthirsty. He allegedly fired his rifle far more frequently than other snipers;[2] according to testimony, the other snipers in the platoon did not consider him a good sniper, and he took „random shots“ into buildings.[1] Other snipers said they witnessed Gallagher taking at least two militarily pointless shots, shooting and killing an unarmed old man in a white robe as well as a young girl walking with other girls. Gallagher allegedly boasted about the large number of people he had killed, claiming he averaged three kills a day over 80 days, including four women.[1] Gallagher also was reportedly known for indiscriminately spraying neighborhoods with rockets and machine gun fire with no known enemy force in the region.[5]

A charge of obstruction of justice was brought against Gallagher for alleged witness intimidation. According to the claim, Gallagher allegedly threatened to kill fellow SEALs if they reported his actions.

16.11.2019 - 10:49 [ Daily Mail ]

Donald Trump defies Pentagon to pardon Green Beret who ‚murdered‘ Taliban bombmaker and Army officer who ordered killing of Afghan civilians as he reinstates rank of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher who posed with a corpse

All three also had been favorites among conservatives who see them as heroes who should not have been prosecuted. Trump, when the White House was considering intervening in Golsteyn‘s case, commented at the time, ‚We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill‘!

05.10.2019 - 13:09 [ New York Times ]

THE PARDONS; BUSH PARDONS 6 IN IRAN AFFAIR, ABORTING A WEINBERGER TRIAL; PROSECUTOR ASSAILS ‚COVER-UP‘

(25. Dezember 1992)

Mr. Weinberger was scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 5 on charges that he lied to Congress about his knowledge of the arms sales to Iran and efforts by other countries to help underwrite the Nicaraguan rebels, a case that was expected to focus on Mr. Weinberger‘s private notes that contain references to Mr. Bush‘s endorsement of the secret shipments to Iran.

05.10.2019 - 13:01 [ NPR.org ]

William Barr Supported Pardons In An Earlier D.C. ‚Witch Hunt‘: Iran-Contra

(14.01.2019)

Barr, who is scheduled to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for his confirmation hearings, ran the Justice Department once before, under President George H.W. Bush.

Back then, the all-consuming, years-long scandal was called Iran-Contra. On Dec. 24, 1992, it ended when Bush pardoned six people who had been caught up in it.

„The Constitution is quite clear on the powers of the president and sometimes the president has to make a very difficult call,“ Bush said then. „That‘s what I‘ve done.“

21.05.2019 - 02:16 [ Jason Ditz / antikrieg.com ]

Trump könnte US-Soldaten amnestieren, die wegen Kriegsverbrechen angeklagt oder verurteilt wurden

Sie massenhaft zu entschuldigen, riskiert jedoch die militärische Disziplin, da es dann noch weniger Grund für die Soldaten gibt, die Regeln zu befolgen, wenn sie denken, dass sie nach der Tat begnadigt werden.

21.05.2019 - 02:13 [ Jason Ditz / Antiwar.com ]

Trump May Pardon US Troops Accused or Convicted of War Crimes

These are cases treated as controversial among some Republicans, who believe the troops were punished for “doing their jobs.” Pardoning them en masse, however, will risk military discipline, since there’s even less reason for troops to follow the rules if they figure they’ll get pardoned after the fact.

08.05.2019 - 06:51 [ Josh Smith / Twitter ]

US Army Lt. Michael Behenna was supposed to transport Mansur back to his village. Instead the soldier stripped Mansur naked, interrogated him without authorization and then shot him twice, claiming he lunged for a gun.

08.05.2019 - 06:47 [ telesur ]

Trump Pardons Ex-Soldier Convicted of Killing Unarmed Iraqi Man

The U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned a former soldier convicted by a military court for murdering an unarmed Iraqi man.

01.08.2018 - 20:28 [ Washington Examiner ]

Roger Stone: Trump should pardon Julian Assange to defend journalism

“WikiLeaks has published information deeply embarrassing to the deep state,“ Stone said. „We know for example that the CIA knows how to execute the hack of a computer system and leave fingerprints pointing to a third party in the hack.“