“One day, from his sniper nest, Chief Gallagher shot a girl in a flower-print hijab who was walking w/ other girls on the riverbank. She dropped, clutching her stomach, & the other girls dragged her away.” Trump is preparing to pardon this war criminal. nytimes.com/2019/04/23/us/…
A mass murderer according to Senior Seals: “Would order needless risks, to fire rockets at houses for no apparent reason. He routinely parked an armored truck on a Tigris River bridge & emptied the truck’s heavy machine gun into neighborhoods on twith no discernible targets.”
“Platoon members said he spent much of his time in a hidden perch with a sniper rifle, firing three or four times as often as other platoon snipers. They said he boasted about the number of people he had killed, including women.”
“Two other snipers said, the chief shot an unarmed man in a white robe with a wispy white beard. They said the man fell, a red blotch spreading on his back.”
“Gallagher ordered a hatchet & a hunting knife” before 2017 deployment. He texted the man who made them (a Navy Seal veteran) shortly after arriving in Iraq: “I’ll try and dig that knife or hatchet on someone’s skull!”
May 2017, a SEAL medic was treating a wounded 15 y/o Islamic State fighter. “He’s mine,” Gallagher said. “Gallagher walked up without a word and stabbed the wounded teenager several times in the neck and once in the chest with his hunting knife, killing him.”
He didn’t even try to hide the murder of the 15 y/o. He brought other seals around minutes later & took a photo over the body. Later, he texted the photo to a fellow SEAL in California: “Good story behind this, got him with my hunting knife.”
Platoon members tried time & time again to report about what he was doing. Praying that higher ups would do something. They were told to “decompress.” After he stabbed the 15 y/o: “SEALs called a platoon meeting & discussed how to keep the chief away from anyone he could harm.”
SEAL team 7 members filed formal complaints & called for an investigation about the “shocking acts” they had seen their chief commit. Instead of investigating, platoon members were warned “that speaking out could cost them and others their careers.”
Gallagher for his part, didn’t like all the snitching going on.
Texts: “I just got word these guys went crying to the wrong person. The only thing we can do as good team guys is pass the word on those traitors. They are not brothers at all.”
Texts: “I just got word these guys went crying to the wrong person. The only thing we can do as good team guys is pass the word on those traitors. They are not brothers at all.”
This is the kind of guy Trump has sympathy for. And will likely pardon. A war criminal, who mass murdered Muslim people. Killed w/ pride, hatred & zero remorse. Brazenly gloated about it. And then threatened anyone who would be disloyal enough to speak out about his crimes. 
There are literally millions of people saddled with federal criminal convictions & records—the majority of all those still alive ever charged & convicted in a federal court—whose conduct paled in comparison to what Chris Gallagher is accused of. His cruelty is unique.
Trumps use of pardon power would send a clear message. A value judgment. Consistent w/ his own cruelty, white supremacy, & violence at home & abroad. From police violence, to the Muslim ban, family separations, border shootings, & war on LGTBQ & women’s rights. It’s ‘Us v. Them.’
For Trump, cruelty towards “the other” is the point. If you’re Black or Brown, a non-white immigrant, a woman, or other minority you’re an “animal.” If you’re useful to him, he’ll embrace you. If not he’ll kill you, literally & figuratively, for sport. Just like Gallagher.
Trump is also considering pardoning: Green Beret Mathew Golsteyn, accused of killing an unarmed civilian; Nicholas Slatten, Blackwater guard found guilty of shooting dozens of unarmed Iraqis; & snipers accused of defiling a dead Taliban fighter’s corpse.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/us/…
Not surprisingly, Trump is taking his cues from FoxNews & Republican congress people, who all “have portrayed them as being unfairly punished for trying to do their job.” According to the NYT as of now he plans to do this on Memorial Day. If he does it, it would be unprecedented.
“Pardoning several accused & convicted war criminals at once, including some who have not yet gone to trial, has not been done in recent history, legal experts said. Some worried that it could erode the legitimacy of military law & undercut good order & discipline in the ranks.”
This story is absolutely consistent w/ news today that Trump plans on pardoning a group of US military war criminals. Cruelty & violence toward “enemies” is the point.
https://twitter.com/jacobsoboroff/status/1129886998901092352?s=21
*Edward* Gallagher. Ugh.
This 👇👇👇👇👇. It’s not about the Pardon Power. A critical power that needs to be used way more & has never been used enough. It’s about Trump’s selective use. In NY, Gov. Cuomo has barely touched the power.
https://twitter.com/prisonculture/status/1130153923883536386?s=21
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