navy seal pardoned by trump for war crimes

'Given his service to our Nation, a promotion back to the rank and pay grade of Chief Petty Office is justified,' the White House said in a statement.

On Friday, the president promoted him to the grade of E-7, the rank he held before he was acquitted of most charges. He had been selected for promotion to senior chief, but it was put on hold during his trial. Gallagher was convicted of a single charge of posing with a dead body of an ISIS fighter. Gallagher was charged with more than a dozen crimes regarding his eighth deployment to Iraq, where his behavior there had alarmed colleagues so much that they asked to meet with their top troop commander to raise concerns, according to a report obtained by the New York Times. Trump also promoted Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who was accused of a series of crimes in Iraq, including shooting a young girl walking along a riverbank and an older man with a sniper's rifle and stabbing to death a wounded prisoner, but was acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges in July.

'As the President has stated, 'When our soldiers have to fight for our country, I want to give them the confidence to fight.'' 'The President, as Commander-in-Chief, is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the law is enforced and when appropriate, that mercy is granted,' read a statement from the White House announcing the pardons and promotion. The pardons included Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, who was convicted of ordering his soldiers to open fire on three unarmed men in Afghanistan, and Army Major Mathew Golsteyn, who admitted to killing an unarmed man in Afghanistan after the man had been identified as a possible bomb maker. Trump had been known to be mulling over a decision to grant a pardon to a number of service members accused of crimes while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, issuing the order Friday after the end of the first week of impeachment hearings. President Trump granted full pardons for two US soldiers accused of war crimes Friday and promoted a Navy SEAL who was acquitted in the stabbing death of a wounded prisoner in Iraq.

Navy seal pardoned by trump for war crimes