Editorial board to Trump: hands off military justice

Pres. Donald J. Trump

The editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune has published this powerful editorial in response to President Donald J. Trump's intervention in the pretrial treatment of accused SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher. Excerpt:

That process [military justice] should play out on its own. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board greatly respects and admires members of the U.S. military. We acknowledge the terrible stress of war. We also agree with the Pentagon: These circumstances don’t excuse a SEAL deciding to execute someone in custody. Instead of intervening, Trump should read the Navy’s “core values of honor, courage and commitment,” which commit every member to “an uncompromising code of integrity, taking full responsibility for my actions and keeping my word.”