Connect with us

News

Retired Admiral Slams Trump for Shutting Down Navy Investigation Into Pardoned War Criminal

Published

on

On CNN Monday, retired Rear Adm. John Kirby laid into President Donald Trump for firing Navy Secretary Richard Spencer to shut down the investigation into pardoned war criminal Eddie Gallagher, who was convicted of posing with the corpse of a teenage prisoner he had allegedly stabbed to death with his hunting knife.

“I’ve spoken to Navy officers who said they this happens all the time for far lesser issues,” said anchor Jim Sciutto. “One brought up the case of someone lying on a test. How concerning is it that the Navy wasn’t even allowed the discretion to make a decision on that relatively small disciplinary step?”

“Very deeply concerning, Jim,” said Kirby. “Again, we’re talking about an administrative review process. The Navy SEALs do this all the time, and people get their trident pins revoked for much less than what Gallagher has not only been alleged to have done, but actually convicted of doing, and here’s the other thing, Jim, there are three other SEALs that are going through this same review process on their trident pins as Gallagher was, those three other SEALs that were in the same photos. Now what does the Navy do about those guys? They don’t have high-paid lawyers. They don’t have the president or commander in chief weighing in on their behalf. But if they’re going to exonerate Gallagher for this same offense and let him retire with his trident pin, what do they do about those other three? And then, more, writ large, what message does this send to the SEAL community?”

“I want to get to that question, because this speaks to a broad range of behaviors here,” said Sciutto. “Again, I’ve spoken to military commanders and others who worry because they take the law seriously, right. They want soldiers on the battlefield, it is difficult, but follow the law. This goes to chain of command and discipline and goes to how U.S. allies see U.S. forces deployed abroad. You’ve dealt with these issues for years. Describe to people how, you know, the sort of odd fact that Gallagher stays and Spencer is gone now, how does the rank and file read that?”

“I think there’s some worrisome conclusions that some in the rank and file might take away from this, that if you have a high paid lawyer, if the commander in chief is on your side, you can flout discipline,” said Kirby. “Yesterday, Gallagher was on Fox & Friends disparaging Rear Adm. Green, the commander of the SEAL forces. That was an incredible moment. There’s going to be real concern by commanders across the force about what this says for their ability to execute good order and discipline inside their ranks. Also, you brought it up just briefly in what you said, Jim, there’s a message here to allies and partners, if we exonerate this kind of behavior, if we’re able to whistle past that graveyard, how can they trust when they have American boots on their ground conducting operations in their countries, that we have the ability and the forthrightness to hold our troops accountable for what is, essentially, war crimes.”

Related: ‘Deadly Serious’: Read Fired Navy Secretary’s Scathing Letter in Wake of Trump’s Attacks on ‘The Rule of Law’

“I remember the deep concern after the Abu Ghraib scandal,” said Sciutto. “This is about how U.S. forces operate on the battlefield, and part of the soft power, of course, is that U.S. forces follow the law where others may not.”

“Follow the law, and stand for values that are greater than just ourselves,” agreed Kirby.

Watch below:

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Trump Appears to Think Jeb Bush Was President: ‘He Got Us Into the Middle East’

Published

10 hours ago

on

September 25, 2023

By

During a rally in South Carolina on Monday, Donald Trump appeared to confuse former Florida GOP Governor Jeb Bush with his brother, former President George W. Bush, while bragging to supporters how he beat him.

Jeb Bush, who was largely considered to be the default Republican Party nominee for the 2016 presidential election when he launched his campaign, dropped out in February of 2016 after the South Carolina primary.

“When I come here, everyone thought Bush was going to win,” Trump said, before claiming he was “up by about 50 points” over Bush. “They thought Bush because Bush was supposedly a military person.”

“You know what he was…He got us into the Middle East,” Trump claimed, wrongly. “How did that work out?”

READ MORE: ‘Isn’t Glock a Good Gun?’ Trump Asks Before Saying He Is Buying One – Campaign Forced to Deny He Did

“But they also thought that Bush might win. Jeb. Remember Jeb? He used the word ‘Jeb,’ he didn’t use the word ‘Bush,’ I said, ‘You mean he’s ashamed of the last name?’ and then they immediately started using the name Bush,” Trump claimed.

The ex-president went on to continue denigrating Jeb Bush, accusing him of bringing his mother to campaign with him.

“Remember,” Trump said, “he brought his mother, his wonderful mother who’s 94 years old and it was pouring and they’re wheeling her around and it’s raining and horrible. I said, ‘Who would do that your mother, 94 years old. How desperate are you to win?”

Media Matters’ Craig Harrington, commenting on Trump’s latest gaffe, observed: “In the past two weeks, Donald Trump has:

– Warned that Joe Biden might start ‘World War 2’
– Confused his 2016 election opponent (Hillary Clinton) with former President Barack Obama
– Confused his 2016 primary opponent (Jeb Bush) with former President George W. Bush.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Careening’ Toward ‘Risk of Political Violence’: Experts Sound Alarm After Trump Floats Executing His Former General

Continue Reading

News

Fulton County Judge in Trump Case Orders Jurors’ Identities and Images Must Be Protected

Published

11 hours ago

on

September 25, 2023

By

The Fulton County Superior Court judge presiding over Georgia’s RICO, conspiracy, and election interference case against Donald Trump on Monday afternoon ordered the identities and images of all jurors and prospective jurors to remain secret, ordering they may only be referred to by a number.

“No person shall videotape, photograph, draw in a realistic or otherwise identifiable manner, or otherwise record images, statements, or conversations of jurors/prospective jurors in any manner” that would violate a Superior Court rule, Judge Scott McAfee ordered, “except that the jury foreperson’s announcement of the verdict or questions to the judge may be audio recorded.”

“Jurors or prospective jurors shall be identified by number only in court filings or in open court,” he added.

READ MORE: ‘Careening’ Toward ‘Risk of Political Violence’: Experts Sound Alarm After Trump Floats Executing His Former General

Judge McAfee also ordered no juror’s or prospective juror’s identity, “including names, addresses, telephone numbers, or identifying employment information” may be revealed.

MSNBC’s Katie Phang posted the order, and added: “Another important part of the Order: no responses from juror questionnaires or notes about jury selection shall be disclosed, unless permitted by the Court.”

Judge McAfee’s order comes after Donald Trump’s weekend of attacks on his former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. Trump strongly suggested he should be executed for treason. Trump also strongly suggested he would target Comcast, NBC News, and MSNBC if he wins the 2024 presidential election.

Responding to the news, MSNBC’s Medhi Hasan observed, “We have just normalized the fact that the former president, and GOP presidential frontrunner, is basically a mob boss.”

 

Continue Reading

News

‘Isn’t Glock a Good Gun?’ Trump Asks Before Saying He Is Buying One – Campaign Forced to Deny He Did

Published

12 hours ago

on

September 25, 2023

By

During a photo shoot at a South Carolina gun shop, Donald Trump posed with and then said he wanted to buy a Glock, asking if it is “a good gun.”

Some say it might be illegal to sell a gun to anyone under criminal indictment, and if he took the gun with him that too might be illegal. It was not clear if, despite saying he would, he actually bought the firearm. The Trump campaign initially said he had, although later backtracked on its claim, and deleted the social media post saying he had.

In the photo op (video below,) Trump posed with several people, including the Republican Attorney General of South Carolina, Alan Wilson, who has held that elected position since 2011.

“Trump’s spokesman announced that Trump bought a Glock today in South Carolina. He even posted video,” wrote former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob. “If Trump took the gun with him, that’s a federal crime since he’s under indictment. There’s also a law against selling a gun to someone under federal indictment like Trump.”

READ MORE: ‘Poof’: White House Mocks Stunned Fox News Host as GOP’s Impeachment Case Evaporates on Live Air

Reuters’ crime and justice reporter Brad Heath posted the federal laws that might apply, as well as Trump’s campaign spokesperson’s clip of the ex-president’s remarks, and his spokesperson saying, “President Trump purchases a @GLOCKInc in South Carolina!”

CNN analyst Stephen Gutowski, who writes about gun policy, added, “It would be a crime for him to actually buy this gun because he’s under felony indictment. Did he actually go through with this purchase?”

“People under felony indictments can’t ‘receive’ new firearms. That also means you can’t buy them,” he also wrote.

MSNBC anchor and legal contributor Katie Phang wrote, “I don’t know if he actually bought the gun. At least it didn’t happen in this video. Also, the Attorney General of South Carolina is in this video. Is he watching Trump commit a crime?”

But some pointed to a federal judge in Texas’ ruling from last year. Reuters reported, a “federal law prohibiting people under felony indictment from buying firearms is unconstitutional.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

 

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.