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President Trump is preparing to pardon Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher and other members of the Armed Forces accused of war crimes, according to a report released.
In a sign that he plans to forgive on or to Memorial Day, Trump has asked the Department of Justice to prepare the necessary documents, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Gallagher, a special operations officer, is facing trial for stabbing a wounded prisoner of war in Iraq and shooting unarmed civilians in Afghanistan.
Trump recently ordered him to be transferred to a "less restrictive" prison. Republican legislators had called for Gallagher's release before his trial.
According to the Times, the president could also pardon the army Beret Green Mathew Golsteyn, accused of killing an unarmed civilian; Nicholas Slatten, a former Blackwater guard convicted of shooting at dozens of unarmed Iraqis; and a group of Navy snipers accused of desecrating the body of a dead Taliban fighter.
Earlier this year, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) Asked Trump to file the Gallagher case.
"Chief Gallagher is accused of killing a confirmed fighter of the Islamic State in a war zone based on incoherent testimony and without any physical evidence," Hunter said in a January statement.
"It's important to remember that this ISIS fighter took part in a long fight with Chief Gallagher's team and had already been seriously injured during his capture. No credible evidence has been provided to assert that this Islamic State fighter was murdered instead of dying of his terrorist acts. "
The White House has asked the Justice Department to be forgiven on Friday, the Times reported, citing an unidentified military official.
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