Fox News host: Pardoned Blackwater war criminals were 'doing their job' by massacring 14 civilians

Fox News host Pete Hegseth on Wednesday praised four Blackwater military contractors who were pardoned by President Donald Trump after they massacred 14 Iraqi civilians.

"What the president did for those Blackwater contractors -- it's been described as a massacre," Hegseth said on Fox & Friends. "What it was was the fog of a moment where they were doing their job to protect State Department employees in one of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad at one of the most dangerous moments."

Hegseth, who is a former National Guard officer, argued that the evidence against the contractors was "mishandled."

"They were tried in a civilian that has no connection to what it's like to be in that war," he opined. "They volunteered to be there."

"And a huge credit to the commander-in-chief," he said. "There's no upside to a call like this other than sending a signal to our war fighters, whether you're a contractor in uniform, we're going to have your back when you make tough calls on the battlefield."

Hegseth added: "Kudos from my perspective to the president for doing what he did for those Blackwater contractors."

Watch the video below from Fox News.