President Donald Trump's reported plan to pardon U.S. servicemembers for war crimes originated with one of the president's "favorite" Fox News personalities, The Daily Beast reported Monday.
"Over the weekend, news broke that Trump is preparing to pardon several U.S. servicemen involved in high-profile cases of gunning down civilians or killing detainees, with the White House having already ordered that the necessary paperwork be drawn up ahead of the coming Memorial Day," The Beast reported.
The effort is the result of "a months-long lobbying campaign by Pete Hegseth, a Fox & Friends co-host and a buddy and informal adviser of the president’s."
Hegseth has specifically pushed to pardon Edward Gallagher, who has been accused of shooting civilians, including a young girl.
"Since as early as January, Hegseth has repeatedly pressed the president to support the accused and convicted servicemen," The Beast reported. "According to three people with knowledge of the situation, Hegseth had multiple private conversations on the topic with President Trump over the past four-and-a-half months, with Gallagher’s case among those he pushed."
"The Fox & Friends host repeatedly told Trump that the process had been “very unfair” to Gallagher, two of these sources tell The Daily Beast. Hegseth pushed the president not only to publicly help Gallagher, but since at least March has specifically advised Trump to pardon him and the other men," the publication continued.
"The lobbying appears to have been persuasive," The Beast noted.
Hegseth, Fox News, and the White House did not respond to The Beasts requests for comment.
Read the full report.
