Members of the Congressional Justice for Warriors Caucus released the following statements in light of the wonderful news of President Trump’s pardons for U.S. veterans and former government security contractors Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten and Paul Slough:
President Donald J. Trump has delivered the most wonderful Christmas gift in the form of pardons for the members of the Biden Four. These decorated veterans served their country honorably and put themselves in harm’s way to defend U.S. diplomats only to be repaid by our government with a corrupted judicial process and prison sentences. I am so thankful that President Trump exercised his superb judgment in granting relief for these men—an action that I do not think any other president would have had the political or moral courage to do. To Dustin, Evan, Nick and Paul: I wish you the most blessed and merriest of Christmases as you are reunited with your loved ones.
-Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Chairman
“The Obama Administration, in its zeal to attack America first, railroaded four of our Iraq warriors, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten, and Paul Slough. Convicted by perjurious witnesses and corrupt prosecutors, they were each granted full pardons by President Donald J. Trump. These decorated veterans will now get to spend Christmas at home with their families. Welcome home boys.”
-Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ- 4)
The Congressional Justice for Warriors Caucus advocates for unjustly convicted and confined servicemembers and military contractors who made split second decisions in combat situations and found themselves second guessed by unscrupulous and over-zealous prosecutors. The Biden Four are among the most egregiously maligned and abused of all. They are all military veterans and were serving as Blackwater security teams. Forty-two Blackwater security personnel were killed protecting high value targets, yet Blackwater never lost a single person under their protection. Four of the 42 were killed on the road to Umm Qasr where they had escorted me the day before. I remember their faces to this day. It pains me that the Biden Four have been put through so much by second-guessing politicians like Biden and Hillary who persecuted them and ginned up additional prosecutions. We as Americans think of our warriors as always going on offense, but in this case, they were attacked and acted in self-defense. Unfortunately, they were aggressively prosecuted by overzealous government prosecutors, and then by Hillary and Biden. If ever there was a justifiable set of pardons, President Trump has delivered it tonight. God Bless President Trump for righting these egregious wrongs and Merry Christmas to the Biden Four!
-Rep. Steve King (IA-4)
“I commend President Trump for his action tonight to pardon the Biden Four-- Dustin, Evan, Nicholas, and Paul. Following a firefight that resulted in the tragic death of a number of Iraqis, the media shamelessly portrayed these men as killers. Yet, the corruption and prosecutorial misconduct that has since been uncovered paints a very different picture. These Americans were abandoned by their own government after an emergency response to secure the safe return of an American diplomat turned deadly. Looking forward, I hope the Congressional Justice for Warriors Caucus will continue to work on behalf of unfairly convicted patriots like the Biden 4 and others who should have the same Constitutional protections that are available to every other American."
-Rep. Bill Flores (TX-17)
“Thank you, President Trump, for standing up for these four veterans and righting this wrong. I am thrilled they can now be with their families for Christmas. We owe our military and veterans a debt we can never repay.”
-Rep. Daniel Webster (FL-11)
