{"id":52692,"date":"2019-11-22T15:53:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/22\/clemency-for-war-criminals-an-insult-to-the-military-lawmaker-argues\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:08:59","slug":"clemency-for-war-criminals-an-insult-to-the-military-lawmaker-argues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/11\/22\/clemency-for-war-criminals-an-insult-to-the-military-lawmaker-argues\/","title":{"rendered":"Clemency for war criminals an \u2018insult\u2019 to the military, lawmaker argues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to grant clemency to three service members<\/a> accused of war crimes amounts to \u201can insult to our entire system of military justice\u201d and military order, according to the Senate\u2019s top Democrat on defense issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a scathing floor speech Thursday, Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed<\/a>, D-R.I., blasted the moves as sending a \u201cdamaging\u201d message not just to the troops involved in those judicial proceedings, but to the rest of the armed forces as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(His) disregard risks undermining the confidence of our service members in the rule of law, especially those courageous enough to bring allegations of war crimes to light and testify against their teammates,\u201d said Reed, an Army veteran who served as an infantry officer in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\t