Evan Liberty, one of four ex-Blackwater contractors pardoned in President Trump
Donald Trump Trump calls the second round of the Georgia Senate ‘both illegal and invalid’ in New Year’s tweets. Judge rejects Gohmert’s electoral process against Pence Former Republican Party senator suggests forming a new party, calls Trump the ‘master’ of Republicans MORE last month, for his roles in the 2007 deaths of more than a dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians, he said in his first interview since being released from prison that he believes he “acted correctly”.
Liberty, whose nearly 30-year sentence was cut in half last year, said The Associated Press this week that his actions were justified, adding that he and the other contractors “responded to a threat of settlement.
“I feel like I did it right,” he said of the 2007 incident. “I’m sorry for any innocent loss of life, but I’m just confident in how I did it and I can basically feel peace about it.”
Blackwater guards continued to argue that they were the target of insurgent shots, although prosecutors said there was no evidence to support this report, as many victims were shot while in their cars at the roundabout where the shooting occurred or while trying to escape the scene.
A 2014 jury convicted Liberty, along with Dustin Heard, Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough, for the deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians and injuries to several others, with the judge in the case calling the shootings “a general wild thing” that cannot be accepted.
The company Blackwater, whose name was changed to Academi, was founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, whose sister, Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVosTrump’s pardons complete ‘Blackwater’ mistakes Trump’s pardons are criticized for benefiting political allies Klobuchar: Trump ‘trying to burn this country on its way out’ MORE, is Trump’s Secretary of Education.
Several groups condemned Trump’s forgiveness to Blackwater contractors, pointing out that Trump used a presidential power historically reserved for non-violent crimes. In addition, as the AP noted, the traditional forgiveness process led by the Department of Justice values acceptance of responsibility and the remorse of convicts.
On Wednesday, the United Nations working group on the use of mercenaries said that Trump forgives contractors violated international law.
“Forgiving the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families,” said the group’s president, Jelena Aparac, according to Reuters.
In a joint statement obtained by Reuters, retired general David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the top American officials responsible for US policy in Iraq at the time of the 2007 killings, called the pardons “extremely damaging, an action that tells the world that Americans abroad can commit the most heinous crimes with impunity. ”