A report from the New York Times indicates that President Donald Trump may be in the process of pardoning several members of the military accused or convicted of war crimes.
Two U.S. officials, who spoke to the Times under the condition of anonymity, said that the president requested the paperwork needed for pardons, which the paper says may indicate that the pardons could take place on or around Memorial Day.
One of the American military members could be NAVY SEALs Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, according to the Times.
Gallagher is accused of killing a teenage Islamic State fighter under his care and then holding his reenlistment ceremony with the corpse. Navy prosecutors also accuse Gallagher of shooting two civilians in Iraq and opening fire on crowds. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
His lawyers have said he did not murder anyone and that disgruntled SEALs made the accusations because they wanted to get rid of a demanding platoon leader. His trial is set for May 28 at Naval Base San Diego.
Gallagher’s case has become politically charged with GOP congress members calling for prosecutors to drop the case and tweeting in advance of Gallagher being transferred from the brig to a naval hospital that the move was to honor "his past service to our country."
The Times also reported that other military members that Trump may be set to pardon include Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, who was accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010, and a group of Marine Corps snipers charged with urinating on a Taliban fighter’s corpse.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
