Trump Pardons Blackwater Contractors, Republican Allies
A Marine stands outside the entrance to the West Wing of the White House, signifying that the president is in the Oval Office, on Dec. 22, 2020, in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnik/AP
President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned 15 people, including Republican allies, a 2016 campaign official ensnared in the Russia probe and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad.
Trump also commuted the sentences of five people. While it is not unusual for presidents to grant clemency on their way out the door, Trump has made clear that he has no qualms about intervening in the cases of friends and allies whom he believes have been treated unfairly. Despite speculation, though, not on the list were members of Trump’s own family, his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and the president himself.
Egregious and disgusting : Trump s pardon of Blackwater contractors sparks outrage, warnings Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s decision on Tuesday to pardon four former Blackwater security guards – convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead – has unleashed a torrent of criticism and anger from lawmakers, former prosecutors and ex-military officials.
Some warned that Trump’s decision would carry severe consequences – jeopardizing the safety of American military personnel, inflaming U.S.-Iraqi tensions and tarnishing the U.S. justice system in the eyes of the world.
“Trump s move is corrosive to the U.S. military,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official who worked on Iraq policy in the George W. Bush administration.
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Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted six years ago in the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians and the wounding of 17 others. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad s Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers.
The massacre took place in 2007, when the four were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an assignment in Baghdad. They claimed they were fired on, but prosecutors said the Blackwater guards opened fire first. Slatten, whom prosecutors said started the shooting, was sentenced to life in prison.
Hassan Salman is among the Iraqis who were shot during the ambush. He told NPR on Wednesday that he was shocked by Trump s pardons he himself had made trips to the U.S. to give testimony in the proceedings against the four.
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