Pete Hegseth Hails Trump as Courageous for Taking His Advice on Pardoning Blackwater Guards Jailed For Iraq Massacre
Fox News host Pete Hegseth celebrated President Donald Trump’s pardoning this week of four Blackwater military contractors who were convicted for their roles in the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed.
The Fox & Friends Weekend host has lobbied the president for years to intervene in the cases of U.S. soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes.
On Wednesday, Hegseth and his colleagues addressed the news of Trump’s Tuesday night pardon blitz, which included everyone from figures indicted by the Mueller investigation to former Republican congressmen convicted on corruption charges.
The segment ended up focusing on his pardons of Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, the Blackwater guards who were convicted of killing 17 Iraqi civilians, including two children aged 9 and 11.
“I would note, also, that Blackwater contractors — and you look at that story of Raven 23 and how it was misconstrued against those guys,” Hegseth commented. “God bless the president for having the courage, which a lot of other presidents wouldn’t do, to pardon those men. Those veterans who were there defending diplomats put in an impossible situation.”
Hegseth did not disclose the fact that he was mentioned by name in the White House’s announcement of Trump’s pardons:
Today, President Trump granted full pardons to Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard. The pardon of these four veterans is broadly supported by the public, including Pete Hegseth, and elected officials…
Indeed, Hegseth has been a vocal opponent of the Blackwater convictions. This also isn’t the first time Trump has followed his advice on intervening in the cases of accused war criminals.
Hegseth made repeated public and private efforts to lobby Trump for pardons to servicemen accused of war crimes, including Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL platoon leader accused of shooting civilians and killing a captured ISIS fighter. The president intervened in Gallagher’s case and restored his rank after he was demoted for improper conduct in Iraq.
Watch above, via Fox News.
