(C) Common Dreams
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Fox’s Pete Hegseth has been repeatedly advocating for looser accountability for war crimes as Trump prepares to pardon convicted war criminals [1]
['Written By']
Date: 2024-11
Background on cases of accused war criminals
Lorance, who was a first lieutenant in the Army, was found guilty in 2013 of second-degree murder of two civilians in Afghanistan. The New York Times reported that nine members of his platoon testified against Lorance at his trial, and several of them contradicted his testimony in their interviews. One of his subordinates told the Times, “One of the first things [Lorance] said to us was, we are going to go in Gestapo-style with night raids, pull people out of houses, make them afraid of us.” It was also reported in Task & Purpose that Lorance ordered his soldiers to shoot a child who attempted to recover the bodies.
Golsteyn, a major in Army Special Forces, is charged with the murder of an alleged Taliban bomb-maker in Afghanistan in 2010. The Army Times reported that “Golsteyn allegedly told CIA interviewers [in 2011] that he and another soldier took the alleged bomb-maker off base, shot him and buried his remains. He also allegedly told the interviewers that on the night of the killing, he and two other soldiers dug up the body and burned it in a trash pit on base.” Golsteyn was “cleared of a law of armed conflict violation,” but an Army board found his conduct unbecoming of an officer. The Army then reopened the case in 2016 after Golsteyn told Fox News anchor Bret Baier that he killed the man.
Hegseth has aggressively lobbied on Fox & Friends for less accountability of war crimes
Hegseth referred to “military heroes” convicted of “so-called war crimes” before introducing Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, a company whose contractors were convicted of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians. When Hegseth asked Prince why the Pentagon would oppose pardoning war criminals. Prince responded that “they forget who the commander-in-chief is,” adding that “it’s absolutely his right to review bureaucratic overreach and the micromanagement of troops in contact.” Hegseth added that Trump “gets to set … the rules of engagement,” complaining that “somebody in an air-conditioned office in Washington, D.C., second-guesses them.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 11/8/19; The Washington Post, 8/14/19]
A few days earlier, Hegseth complained, “You train someone to go and fight and kill the enemy, then they kill the enemy the way someone doesn’t like, and then we put them in jail.” Co-host Steve Doocy framed the story as “military heroes accused or convicted of war crimes under fire from the very government they volunteered to serve.” Hegseth revealed that he has information from Trump “himself” that “action is imminent” on the cases of Lorance and Golsteyn and also “restoring the rank” of Gallagher. Hegseth said, “This president recognizes the injustice of -- you train someone to go fight and kill the enemy, then they go kill the enemy the way someone doesn’t like, and then we put them in jail.” Hegseth also claimed soldiers accused of war crimes are “treated … like second-class citizens.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 11/4/19]
In October, Hegseth hosted Don Brown, a member of Lorance’s legal team, and Jamie Lorance, Clint Lorance’s cousin. Hegseth compared Lorance to the Navy SEAL members who killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, saying that Lorance “did the same thing.” Brown insisted that we “should not be prosecuting warriors who kill the enemy.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 10/27/19]
In September, Hegseth lamented that “many of our nation’s warriors are finding themselves in trouble for doing the job they were hired to do: Fight a war and kill the enemy.” Hegseth argued that then-recently paroled Army National Guard Sgt. Derrick Miller was unjustly prosecuted for murder after he killed an unarmed Afghan civilian in 2010. Hegseth invited Miller on the show to promote his work arguing for clemency for convicted war criminals like himself. Miller claimed that “the constitutional rights of soldiers … are being violated.” Hegseth complained, “As a war fighter, you assume that your military will have your back. Instead, they come after you.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 9/15/19; The Guardian, 7/28/11]
In August, Hegseth defended the Blackwater contractors convicted of murdering Iraqi civilians. Hegseth hosted Gina Keating and Michael Flaherty, the producers of a podcast defending the contractors and allowed them to rewrite the events of Nisour Square, where 17 Iraqi civilians were murdered. Hegseth described the events as “another day on the job in Iraq,” saying that he “encountered situations just like this” when he fought in Iraq. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 8/11/19; The New York Times, 10/22/14]
In his first Fox & Friends interview after being found not guilty of murder, Eddie Gallagher profusely thanked Hegseth and Fox News for “being with us from day one,” adding, “You guys backed us from the beginning.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/3/19]
In May, Hegseth said that if Golsteyn’s actions meant he committed premeditated murder, “then I did as well. … Put us all in jail.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 5/28/19]
Hegseth strongly endorsed potential pardons for Gallagher (prior to his acquittal), Golsteyn, and Lorance following reports that Trump is considering pardons. Hegseth claimed that he “can’t stand” that The New York Times wrote that these men are “accused of war crimes,” saying, “They’re not war criminals, they’re warriors who have now been accused of certain things that are under review.” Hegseth added that the possibility of pardons is “very heartening for guys like me and others in the service.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 5/19/19]
Hegseth praised Trump for pardoning Michael Behenna, a soldier convicted of killing an Iraqi prisoner. Hegseth said “they knew” the prisoner Behenna killed was “the guy that killed the two Americans,” but just “didn’t have enough evidence,” justifying Behenna and other soldiers’ decision to “interrogate him themselves” before Behenna killed the prisoner. Hegseth again drew parallels between himself and convicted war criminals, claiming Behenna “could’ve been me, could’ve been anybody.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/7/19; NPR, 5/7/19]
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[1] Url:
https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/foxs-pete-hegseth-has-been-repeatedly-advocating-looser-accountability-war-crimes
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