Trump Wades Into Murder Case Against Former Green Beret
‘AT THE REQUEST OF MANY’
After watching a Fox News segment that praised Mathew Golsteyn.
Mary F. Calvert/Reuters
President Trump has intervened in a murder case against a former U.S. Special Forces soldier, apparently after watching a Fox News segment that praised the soldier as a war hero. “At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a ‘U.S. Military hero,’ Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder,” Trump tweeted Sunday, just moments after Fox & Friends aired a segment lauding Golsteyn. “He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas,” Trump wrote, repeating part of the Fox & Friends segment verbatim. Army officials confirmed Friday that Golsteyn has been charged with premeditated murder for a shooting that happened when he was serving in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province nearly 10 years ago. Golsteyn is said to have twice admitted to killing a suspected bomb-maker linked to the Taliban who had been taken into custody by U.S. forces. The first admission, during a job interview with the CIA in 2011, saw him stripped of his Silver Star, while his second apparent confession—during a 2016 interview with Fox News—led to an Army investigation and the subsequent murder charges against him. Defense Department officials cited by The New York Times on Sunday said Trump’s tweet may have complicated the case against Golsteyn, though the Army is expected to continue with the case.
At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a “U.S. Military hero,” Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas. @PeteHegseth@FoxNews
