CRIME/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WAR: “President Donald Trump on Monday [11-25-19] defended his intervention in the cases of three service members implicated in war crimes, asserting that he was ‘sticking up’ for America’s armed forces amid an escalating controversy over the ouster of his Navy secretary…The president went on to contrast his recent interference in the military justice system with the treatment of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and Chelsea Manning, a whistleblower and former Army intelligence analyst…A military judge ruled in 2017 that Bergdahl would not serve any time in prison after pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Manning, who rose to prominence in 2010 after passing along hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and military reports to WikiLeaks, was convicted by court-martial in 2013, but former President Barack Obama commuted her 35-year sentence in 2017.”
–Quint Forgey, “Trump defends intervention in war crimes cases,” Politico, November 25, 2019 11:16 pm