“For those who have and continue to slander my name, the truth is coming.”Footnote 1 Those words, uttered by Eddie Gallagher in 2020 after his release from prison, served as a warning shot to critics. In his fight against what he labeled “domestic terrorists”Footnote 2 in the U.S. military justice system, Gallagher was defiant. His words were not empty rhetoric. Since receiving clemency from Trump in 2019, the former Navy SEAL has penned a book,Footnote 3 founded a nonprofit dedicated to overhauling military prosecutions,Footnote 4 and morphed into a right-wing celebrity and martyr.Footnote 5 Gallagher is not alone. His work is now mirrored by countless individuals and organizations that, both in Washington and nationally, lobby for the release of jailed U.S. servicemembers.
This chapter explains the persistence of the impunity agenda. It argues that Trump’s resurgence in 2024 has already thrust the agenda back to the forefront and that it could even be self-executing after Trump eventually leaves office. Sections 5.1 and 5.2 show how the conservative media space and an emboldened right wing in Congress discourage advocates from backing away from publicly testing IHL. Section 5.3 traces the expanding coalition of the impunity movement, which now not only includes Fox News and Republican lawmakers but also lobbyist organizations and troops granted clemency by Trump. Section 5.4 describes how close-knit professional and social networks amplify the power of the impunity coalition, even more now given Trump’s re-ascendance to the White House and Pete Hegseth’s selection as Defense Secretary.
5.1 Trends in Conservative Media
Fox News shows little sign of retreating from its aggressive advocacy for the impunity agenda. Even when Trump was out of office, the network’s most outspoken advocacy for “Trumpism” continued to come from reliable backers, not least Pete Hegseth prior to his cabinet appointment. Fox News’s reluctance to peel away from the impunity agenda in part reflects inertia. Since 2016, Fox News built up anchors and producers who positively covered Trump’s military leadership and were influential in steering White House policy. As one analysis observed, “The end of a presidential campaign is often a time for news organizations to take stock and recalibrate their strategies. But [with Fox News] never before had a network been so closely affiliated with a commander-in-chief.”Footnote 6
Since his second election, no act has more clearly demonstrated Trump’s commitment to Fox News and the impunity agenda than his appointment of Hegseth as Defense Secretary. The pick was not only symbolically important in elevating a Fox News host to lead the Pentagon, formalizing a previously informal relationship. Trump’s doing so against considerable pressure, and accusations that Hegseth was unqualified, showed his personal commitment to Hegseth. Shortly after his appointment, allegations emerged accusing Hegseth of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, alcoholism, and later, spousal abuse, all of which Hegseth denied.Footnote 7 Hegseth also sparked controversy for his previously stated position that women should not fight in front-line combat.Footnote 8
Trump first floated the idea of making Hegseth the Secretary of Defense on “Fox & Friends,” with one analysis reporting “pride among Fox hosts that one of their own” had been tapped.Footnote 9 Hegseth’s appointment now reinforces a direct line of communication between the White House and Fox News. With Hegseth’s appointment, Fox News loses an anchor but gains an ally with the direct ear of the commander-in-chief. During Trump’s first term, Hegseth, both privately and on air, needed to lobby Trump and work against forces inside the Pentagon anathema to the impunity agenda. Now, Hegseth can take unilateral action against subordinates. Fox News also has an incentive to champion their former anchor and face of the network, which it has consistently done.Footnote 10
In his new role, indications are that Hegseth will continue to prioritize the impunity agenda, alongside Fox News. After Trump lost in 2020, Hegseth continued to make the case on Fox News for standing behind jailed U.S. servicemembers. Notably, just months before his nomination, Hegseth released the book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Safe, published in conjunction with Fox News Books.Footnote 11 A Fox Nation clip of Hegseth went viral from just before the book’s release, where Hegseth decried that “wars keep going … because we are not doing what we did in Japan [drop a nuclear bomb].” He claimed that, in World War II, the military “had barrel-chested men saying ‘we are going to win this war,’” whereas today it has lawyers.Footnote 12
In Trump’s second term, Fox News is again poised to advance the impunity agenda through its interactions both with Trump and its conservative audience. One account recently called Trump the channel’s “de facto programming executive.”Footnote 13 Another said that Trump has “commented so frequently on the coverage of his favourite conservative networks,” including Fox News, that he has become “a sort of politician-media columnist.”Footnote 14 After stepping down from Fox News following his appointment as Defense Secretary, Hegseth went on Fox News’s “Hannity” to plug his credentials. In the interview, he praised Trump for having a “backbone of steel” and pledged to “clean out all the social justice, politically-correct garbage on top” so that the military could get back to “lethality.”Footnote 15
There is also evidence that Pete Hegseth is controlling media access to reduce scrutiny of his leadership at Department of Defense (DoD). Soon after becoming Secretary of Defense, Hegseth instituted a new annual “media rotation program” at the Pentagon.Footnote 16 Venues that lost workspace in the building included the Washington Post, CNN, the Hill, NBC News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. Outlets that gained space were Newsmax, One America News Network (OAN), Breitbart, the New York Post, Free Press, Daily Caller, and HuffPost – with all but the latter leaning conservative. Fox News kept its existing office space. The Pentagon Press Association, which acts on behalf of journalists who report on the U.S. military, denounced the decision as an “unprecedented move by DoD to single out highly professional media.”Footnote 17
In addition to Fox News, new rivalries in conservative media are likely to reinforce the impunity agenda. Competition from the right of Fox News could foster even more extreme echo chambers amplifying overt challenges to IHL. This includes cable outlets Newsmax and OAN. Although the professed goal of these networks is to ideologically counterbalance the likes of CNN and MSNBC on the left, it is also to “outfox Fox News.”Footnote 18 One analysis, for instance, has described a “race unfolding among several conservative outlets who don’t think Fox is pro-Trump enough.”Footnote 19 Another has observed that “[Trump] followers now have multiple options to feed their fix for right-wing opinions – some of them far more extreme than … Fox News.”Footnote 20
Like Fox News, Newsmax and OAN have aggressively championed Trump’s record as commander-in-chief. A key difference, however, is that these networks have tended to air even more extreme views and to tolerate less dissent. For example, a Newsmax interview with Eddie Gallagher’s brother began with the host affirming, “I admit my bias. Your brother to me is an American hero, and frankly, I think … should be given a medal … Why is … [he] enduring this hell?”Footnote 21 In another Newsmax interview, a guest blasted military prosecutors for “target[ing]” and “harass[ing]” Gallagher, who he said had “annihilated the government … and exposed their corruption.”Footnote 22 One Newsmax headline condemned the charges against Gallagher as a “Persecution.”Footnote 23 Newsmax also hosted Gallagher to promote his bookFootnote 24 and to champion Pete Hegseth.Footnote 25
Similar narratives have been featured by OAN voices, who echo Fox News rhetoric. For example, in berating the court-martial of U.S. troops, OAN’s Neil McCabe railed against military lawyers wanting the “scalps of the war criminals,” which he insisted was “creating a detrimental effect among our trigger pullers.”Footnote 26 In one segment, Gallagher himself argued that his interactions with military prosecutors were a harbinger of “January 6th individuals … being mistreated.”Footnote 27 In another clip, an OAN anchor introduced Gallagher by declaring, “You were a SEAL … You know exactly what it takes to get the job done.”Footnote 28 One OAN interview advertised a $100 per ticket “cocktail benefit” in Florida hosted by Gallagher to help military personnel finance their criminal defenses.Footnote 29
As with Fox News, OAN and Newsmax have fostered close interactions with Republican lawmakers. For instance, when Reps. Duncan Hunter and Louie Gohmert established the Congressional Justice for Warriors Caucus (CJWC) in 2019, OAN aired a special feature on the organization. The anchor predicted that “if the Justice for Warriors Caucus is successful, it may soon be a force for enduring freedom.”Footnote 30 Newsmax has continued to host CJWC members, with highly favorable coverage. This included a 2022 interview with Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina to discuss proposed reforms to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). In it, one of the show’s hosts, himself a retired Navy SEAL, referred to Eddie Gallagher as “basically the poster child for the military justice system’s corruption and failures.”Footnote 31
To the extent that right-wing cable outlets like Newsmax and OAN are still seen as too moderate, conservatives can also increasingly access a panoply of far- and “alt-right” websites, blogs, and other platforms that support explicit challenges to IHL. As one journalist has written, “true believers [of Trump] can get their information elsewhere.”Footnote 32 Right-wing and “new media” websites have become incubators for hardline, pro-Trump content, from QAnon conspiracy theories to the “Big Lie.” These mediums have also routinely defended efforts to test IHL. For instance, numerous platforms – such as Red State, TheBlaze, and Gateway Pundit – have endorsed positions that the U.S. military should take a less binding stance in upholding norms of restraint on the battlefield.
The byproduct of this competition is not only that more right-wing media sources exist to push the impunity movement. By threatening to capture Fox News’s market share, Newsmax, OAN, and like-minded outlets also impose “market discipline” on Fox News that may disincentivize it from veering from the impunity agenda. Fox News executive Steve Tomsic, for instance, has acknowledged that the network “do[es]n’t take lightly the potential for competition, whether it’s the existing sort of classic MSNBC or CNN or the sort of emerging ones like Newsmax and OAN.”Footnote 33 As one reporter has summarized, “Onscreen and off, in ways subtle and overt, Fox News has adapted to the post-Trump era by moving in a single direction: Trumpward.”Footnote 34
What is unlikely to change is that right-wing media outlets driving the impunity agenda will continue to have as their audience not just conservative voters but also Trump himself. For example, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said that, during Trump’s first term, “every time we were on TV,” including Fox News, “we weren’t just talking to people in the television audience; we were talking to POTUS.”Footnote 35 This dynamic was underscored when Fox News anchors joked on air that Trump should turn off and on lights at the White House to prove that he was listening. Moments later, the lights appeared to flash on screen. Although Fox News conceded the video was edited, the anecdote reflects the reality of Trump leaning on Fox News as his primary information source.Footnote 36
5.2 Trends among GOP Allies on Capitol Hill
Even before Trump re-entered office, Republican Congress members had continued to advocate for U.S. troops implicated in war crime cases. Particularly through the CJWC, many have coordinated campaigns involving social media, TV spots, and events, such as a 2022 reception honoring Eddie Gallagher.Footnote 37 Indicative of the CJWC’s resilience is its sustained activity despite both of its original chairmen leaving Congress. In 2020, Rep. Duncan Hunter resigned in the wake of corruption charges related to campaign finance violations.Footnote 38 In 2022, Louie Gohmert stepped down from his seat in an unsuccessful bid to become Texas attorney general.Footnote 39 CJWC executive director, Derrick Miller, himself a convicted war criminal,Footnote 40 has remained in his position since 2019.Footnote 41
Alongside other initiatives, the CJWC has continued to petition for the release of U.S. troops held in pretrial confinement and imprisoned for convictions.Footnote 42 Republican Congress members have maintained a presence at parole hearingsFootnote 43 and broadcasted their efforts through public relations channels.Footnote 44 CJWC members have also lobbied for concrete reforms before Congress. In 2023, for example, a draft bill of the National Defense Authorization Act included several “Gohmert amendments,” named after Rep. Louie Gohmert. One proposed lowering the bar for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a servicemember’s criminal case irrespective of a verdict issued by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Another proposed requiring unanimous verdicts of guilt in U.S. military courts.Footnote 45
Polarization in Congress, and particularly the rise of Trumpist, far-right legislators, is likely to keep the impunity agenda front and center. One way is simply by reducing the Republican Party to its most polemical manifestations on military issues.Footnote 46 With “MAGA” Republicans especially, this could lead to the continued mainstreaming of fringe views, including open attacks on IHL, that would be muted in a more centrist environment. As scholar Stephen Walt has observed, “Once foreign policy begins to oscillate between two increasingly divided factions, each of the groups has an incentive to pursue its most ambitious, controversial, or extreme projects.”Footnote 47 So long as conservative voters respond positively to impunity appeals, Republican politicians are likely to embrace them.
Self-reinforcing feedback loops may also increase both elite and mass Republican support for the impunity agenda. When Trump or GOP lawmakers promote the impunity agenda, these positions, in turn, may perpetuate a cycle of electorates (and, again, politicians) moving further to the right. For example, many Republican voters have pivoted to support Russia in recent years as a result of Trump’s pro-Kremlin rhetoric.Footnote 48 Similarly, at the height of the GOP primaries in 2015, which were marked by hawkish rhetoric on the Middle East, one analysis found that nearly a third of Republican voters would support bombing Agrabah, a nonexistent country.Footnote 49 Deference to party leaders may push conservative voters to endorse open challenges to IHL, causing GOP politicians to become even more extreme.
Partisan conflict in Congress could also promote the impunity agenda by giving Trump or an eventual predecessor more leeway to directly challenge IHL. With many lawmakers moving to the ideological poles, consensus on military policy has grown increasingly elusive on Capitol Hill. This has allowed recent U.S. presidents, including Trump, to exploit gaps in congressional oversight to expand their authority over the military.Footnote 50 Political scientists James M. Goldgeier and Elizabeth N. Saunders, for instance, have referred to the rise of “unconstrained … executive power” by American presidents in international affairs.Footnote 51 This de facto expanded control over the armed forces could empower a commander-in-chief to unilaterally downplay the importance of the law of war.
At the same time, the pullback of some Congress members from military affairs could actually give anti-establishment Republicans like CJWC members more clout. Even if Congress as a whole continues to play a lesser role in the military, polarization may increase power for small groups of the most ambitious lawmakers.Footnote 52 Scholars Kevin Marsh and Jeffrey S. Lantis, for example, have written on how polarization in Washington has led to an expanded role for “revolutionary” foreign policy entrepreneurs (driven by strategic or philosophical aims) and “mercenary” foreign policy entrepreneurs (motivated to advance their political stature).Footnote 53 Given both the high levels of organization and commitment of the CJWC, this could augment its relative power in Congress.
Finally, entrenched polarization on Capitol Hill reduces the likelihood that presidents will be held to account for clear violations of the law of war. While Congress holds the power of executive oversight, recent events such as Trump’s two impeachment trials have demonstrated that lawmakers now rarely sanction a leader of their own party.Footnote 54 Although presidents may occasionally face intra-party criticism, the lack of formal accountability mechanisms leaves ample room for commanders-in-chief to maneuver. The absence of any serious debate within Congress about holding Trump accountable for violating IHL highlights this dynamic. Consequently, Trump or a successor may perceive free rein to overtly flout IHL, without fear of repercussions.
5.3 Other Political Pressures
Beyond conservative media and GOP lawmakers, pressure from lobbyist organizations and court-martialed U.S. servicemembers themselves may also “re-up” the impunity agenda. Following Trump’s 2019 and 2020 military clemencies, some activists pushed for even more war crime interventions.Footnote 55 This included eight former U.S. servicemembers who petitioned Trump for pardons, including, most notoriously, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who pleaded guilty to murdering three men, four women, and nine children in Afghanistan.Footnote 56 Although unsuccessful, the efforts set the groundwork for attempts to retry cases, to downplay the severity of alleged crimes, and to provide combatants with well-financed legal defense teams. With Trump back in the Oval Office, these cases have not faded from public view.
Lobbyist Organizations
Several lobbyist organizations continue to advocate for war crime interventions. By far, the most well-known is United American Patriots (UAP), whose self-stated goal is to create “positive public awareness and support for our Nation’s Warriors.”Footnote 57 Since its inception in 2005, UAP has worked with dozens of U.S. servicemembers, flagging attention to what it deems illegitimate verdicts and sentences.Footnote 58 Headquartered near Washington, DC, the organization maintains annual revenues of more than $700,00 and operating expenses of more than $1.4 million.Footnote 59 In addition to its full-time staff, volunteers, and a board of directors, UAP claims a membership of “hundreds of thousands of highly patriotic, dedicated, and concerned American citizens” who fund or support its efforts.Footnote 60
As of 2024, UAP reports a total of twenty-four “presently supported warriors” (seven Marine, two Navy, and fifteen Army personnel).Footnote 61 Much of the legal work done by UAP is contracted to a national cadre of attorneys, who it hires through its “Warrior Fund”Footnote 62 at firms like MilitaryDefender.com and Military Justice Attorneys.Footnote 63 Among its highest-profile current clients are Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales and paroled Army First Sgt. John Hatley, sentenced in 2019 for the killings of four Iraqi civilians. UAP also lists as past “success stories” numerous combatants who have received pardons from Trump (Michael Behenna, Mathew Golsteyn, and Clint Lorance), had their charges dismissed or sentences reduced, or received discharge upgrades for their service.Footnote 64
Although it manages legal cases, UAP is perhaps most influential as a public relations apparatus. It launches targeted political campaigns on behalf of court-martialed servicemembers and fights against what it labels “lynchings” by U.S. military courts.Footnote 65 As part of these efforts, supporters can donate to UAP, subscribe to UAP’s newsletter “One Team, One Fight,” and purchase UAP-themed gear, such as ball caps, hoodies, cell phone cases, and mugs.Footnote 66 In 2020, UAP sponsored a stock car in NASCAR’s XFINITY series at Daytona, emblazoned with the photos of Mathew Golsteyn, Clint Lorance, and other court-martialed U.S. servicemembers.Footnote 67 UAP’s Facebook,Footnote 68 Youtube,Footnote 69 and InstagramFootnote 70 pages post regular updates about cases to its followers.
UAP is one of several groups involved in the space. For example, it recently joined with the Combat Clemency Project (CCP) at the University of Chicago Law School,Footnote 71 which, according to a New York Times description, offers legal services toward a “shared mission to pardon U.S. soldiers who killed civilians.”Footnote 72 Founded in 2015 as part of a legal clinic, the project has written clemency petitions and lists among its current and ex-clients seven combatants, including Clint Lorance. CCP says that all “have been excessively punished, and the Army bears some degree of responsibility for their crimes.”Footnote 73 According to director Mark Heyrman, CCP exists in part because “[w]e owe more to our veterans than to just use them in our wars, traumatize them, and throw them away when they behave badly.”Footnote 74
The nonprofit Save Our Heroes (SOH) has also played a visible role in efforts to reform U.S. military prosecutions.Footnote 75 According to SOH, its members travel monthly to the nation’s capital “to help educate Congressional leadership” on “inherent flaws within the military judicial system.”Footnote 76 SOH’s Facebook page has depicted Clint Lorance as “one of our wrongfully convicted Heroes.”Footnote 77 Its blog contains posts like “Unlawful Command Influence Exposed at the Highest Levels of Military Legal Leadership.”Footnote 78 SOH boasts a “client base” of more than 300 individuals, several legislative proposals introduced before Congress, and the instruction of lawmakers about the “national security threat posed by the military justice judicial system.”Footnote 79 In 2018, SOH convened its first annual meeting in Texas.Footnote 80
Other organizations have also aggressively lobbied for war crime clemencies. For example, the Navy SEALs Fund (NSF)-Brotherhood beyond Battle organization, which brands itself as a “Veterans-helping-Veterans” nonprofit,Footnote 81 shouldered much of the financial burden for Eddie Gallagher’s court case. NSF started an online fundraiser to counter what it characterized as “absurd charges” against the “tried and true Warrior,” asserting that Gallagher sacrificed in battle so that “you and your family can sleep peacefully in the warmth of your beds at home.”Footnote 82 In total, NSF raised more than $750,000 for Gallagher’s case. Following Gallagher’s not guilty verdict for murder, NSF declared on its website that “Truth has prevailed!” and posted a Fox News video of Gallagher and Pete Hegseth.Footnote 83
Even corporate interests have joined the lobbying efforts. For example, Nine Line Apparel CEO Tyler Meritt raised at least $80,000 for Eddie Gallagher’s legal case via a “Free Eddie” campaign.Footnote 84 He also created limited-edition Gallagher t-shirts and defended Gallagher on Fox News.Footnote 85 Merritt posted a tongue-in-cheek article on Nine Line’s website entitled “Navy SEAL Kills 8lb 6oz Baby Jesus on Easter” that mocked the charges against Gallagher. In it, he offered a “disclaimer” that “[n]o babies (including the son of GOD) were murdered by any Navy Seal EVER” and disparaged a “BS story [about Gallagher] published by the garbage news agency known as the NY Times.” He further posted online a mock-up of a New York Times article suggesting many of the charges against Gallagher were bogus.Footnote 86
Beyond large organizations, a defining aspect of the impunity movement under Trump has been the growth of online, grassroots organizing. A notable example during Trump’s first term was supportraven23.com, created on behalf of the Blackwater agents,Footnote 87 which also published a newsletter that eclipsed 50,000 recipients.Footnote 88 With newsletter titles like “Sign & Share Our Pardon Petition to Free Raven 23,” the organization kept its followers updated on how to contribute. It championed the CJWC,Footnote 89 published regular calls for prayers,Footnote 90 requested that members share the cases with their churches,Footnote 91 and asked supporters to “please keep tweeting President Trump and emailing him and calling and snail mailing him to say that you support presidential pardons.”Footnote 92
On social media, legions of supporters have also been inspired to participate in discussion forumsFootnote 93 and fundraisersFootnote 94 to raise awareness of troops accused or convicted of war crimes. Hashtags like “#FreeEddie [Gallagher]” and “#KeeptheFaith” became calling cards for court-martialed combatants. Independent websites and magazines additionally publish blogsFootnote 95 and articlesFootnote 96 clamoring for and celebrating clemencies. To fill ongoing demand, internet companies continue to sell paraphernalia with taglines like “Edward Gallagher: Never Out of the Fight.”Footnote 97 Smaller, more amateur advocates in this space, such as Justice4NavySeals, have also gained niche followings, which amplify content from organizations like Fox News, OAN, UAP, and the NSF.Footnote 98
Today, advocates for war crime clemencies have increasingly begun convening face-to-face through large, public gatherings that attract like-minded attendees. A particularly high-profile example is SHOT Show, described by Fox News as “the greatest gun show on Earth.”Footnote 99 The trade show has found natural partnerships with advocates of the impunity agenda. UAP, for instance, routinely arranges a booth at SHOT Show, where attendees can learn about its lobbying and buy UAP-themed “swag.”Footnote 100 In 2020, the organization featured a “meet-and-greet” with Clint Lorance.Footnote 101 In 2022, Shot Show TV interviewed UAP CEO David “Bull” Gurfein.Footnote 102 The same year, Shot Show hosted Eddie Gallagher, who boasted in a video of his “f[inding] a way to beat the [military justice] system.”Footnote 103
Troops Granted Clemency
Individual troops granted clemency by Trump also continue to perpetuate the impunity agenda. The most visible has been Eddie Gallagher, who has made a new career presenting himself as a victim of a corrupt military justice system. Since receiving clemency, Gallagher has launched his own website, TheEddieGallagher.com, and founded the Pipe Hitter Foundation, a charity that lobbies for U.S. servicemembers who purportedly “find themselves in legal crosshairs simply for doing their jobs.”Footnote 104 He has published an autobiography, The Man in the Arena: From Fighting ISIS to Fighting for My Freedom.Footnote 105 He has also made headlines for suing both Navy Secretary Kenneth BraithwaiteFootnote 106 and New York Times writer Dave Philipps,Footnote 107 who has penned a book, Alpha, critical of Gallagher.Footnote 108
Most notably, Gallagher has established himself as a right-wing “influencer.” In Vanity Fair, for instance, one writer called Gallagher “an online micro-celebrity,” detailing how he has used his image to sell products, including fitness supplements and t-shirts with phrases like “Waterboarding Instructor” and “KILL BAD DUDES.”Footnote 109 In 2020, Nine Line Apparel officially launched Gallagher-themed merchandise, including clothing and drinkware, under its “Salty Frog” line.Footnote 110 One writer observed that “[t]his commodification of criminality and toxic patriotism chimes with Trump’s attitudes toward his presidency…. It looks like Trump has found his own brand ambassadors.”Footnote 111 A New York Times profile called Gallagher a “pitchman and conservative activist.”Footnote 112
To bolster his brand, Gallagher has created a personal logo, comprised of a skull and crossbones, alongside the phrase “Seek Battle: FAFO” (F*&K Around and Find Out – reportedly a favored slogan of the paramilitary group the Proud Boys). On his website, Gallagher advertises that supporters can “train with Eddie” in the use of high-powered weaponry and in “home defense and preparation.”Footnote 113 Courses, which take place at a veteran-owned shooting range in Florida, include “Operator for a Day,” “Advanced Pistol/Rifle Training,” and private one-on-one training with Gallagher. Gallagher additionally sponsors the sale of ammunition, knives, and rifles.Footnote 114 For $15 per month, supporters can become “Tier 1” members of Gallagher’s Patreon page, which finances his content creation.Footnote 115
Gallagher’s Instagram account, which has more than a quarter million followers as of 2024 and includes more than 6,000 posts, offers a sampling of his content.Footnote 116 Gallagher consistently posts updates on the Pipe Hitter Foundation, inspirational quotes, “shorts” of personal interviews, advertisements for sponsored products like hot sauce and fitness machines, and other news about his daily life. Some features include a photo of Gallagher giving two “middle fingers” to the Naval Consolidated Brig building in San Diego; Gallagher posing with his latest designed “Free Eddie” t-shirt, on sale for followers; clips with titles like “Exposing the Legal System” and “Why the System is Broken”; and a photo that simply says “The Media Wants to Scare Us.”
Gallagher is also a regular guest for online videos and podcasts.Footnote 117 Examples include a 2020 YouTube video where Gallagher mockingly reads “Mean Tweets” about him,Footnote 118 an interview that declares that “Eddie’s story can be paralleled with the story of Joseph in the bible,”Footnote 119 and a podcast that urges fans to order his book alongside images of beer and barbecue.Footnote 120 Gallagher’s own long-form videos, posted under the YouTube handle “theeddiegallagher,” depict an ultra-masculine, all-American “bro.” One video, for example, features Gallagher working out in an American-flag muscle shirt.Footnote 121 Another shows him at a shooting range and gym, ending with his lifting partner advertising “Battle Tested” post-workout supplement.Footnote 122
Several prominent platforms have boosted Gallagher’s online celebrity. The most notable was a 2019 video by popular YouTuber “Donut Operator.”Footnote 123 The upload, which went viral with 3.9 million views, played a large role in introducing Gallagher’s case to a mass audience. Elsewhere, Gallagher was described as “serv[ing] honorably” on the popular Joe Rogan Podcast.Footnote 124 In a two-part podcast, Gallagher also appeared with Rob O’Neill, who reportedly killed Osama Bin Laden.Footnote 125 Comments on the video included: “Gallagher and O’Neil Save America … F-YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!”; “[H]e’s a fucking warrior I’m so glad Trump pardoned him”; and Jeopardy answer: “Who are two of the baddest Muther F***ers to ever walk this planet?”
Gallagher has also created or participated in several major production ventures. In 2020, for instance, he posted a three-minute, cinematic video that called the Navy SEALs who testified against him in court “cowards.” The footage begins with Gallagher maintaining his innocence and insisting, “The fight to clear my name is not over.”Footnote 126 In 2021, Apple featured Gallagher in its first-ever podcast-TV original series.Footnote 127 Entitled “The Line,” the high-budget production, which included six podcast episodes and a four-part documentary, was criticized by one expert for being “too credulous of the SEAL’s self-aggrandizing mythology.”Footnote 128 An independent, pro-Gallagher documentary, entitled “Navy Seals in the Crosshairs: The Eddie Gallagher Story,” is also reportedly in the works.Footnote 129
As a testament to his reputation within right-wing circles, the conservative Washington Examiner published a special feature on Gallagher in 2019 speculating how he might use his notoriety to earn money or to advocate for political causes after he left the Navy.Footnote 130 In the article, one Navy SEAL urged Gallagher to write publicly about his experiences to provide a “warning for the future generations.” Another SEAL said that he believed “there’s a lot of defense businesses out there that Eddie could potentially get into” and that “he’s going to have enough patriots out there that will gainfully employ him.” Discussing Gallagher’s connection to Pete Hegseth, the article reported that “observers have speculated Gallagher could join … [Fox News] as a military analyst.”
In 2024, Fox News also featured a special report on Gallagher’s Pipe Hitter Foundation, spotlighting his advocacy and fundraising efforts on behalf of court-martialed U.S. servicemembers.Footnote 131 The feature opened with the claim that “Eddie Gallagher knows how it feels to have a target on your back, both on and off the battlefield.” It advertised Gallagher’s “Operator for a Day” fundraiser where supporters could spend $3,000 to receive ammunition and gain access to “two-story live-fire shoot house on site” that simulates close-quarter combat. In an accompanying interview, Gallagher told Fox News that the U.S. military has “a nasty epidemic of overpunishing people.” He further described the UCMJ as “an outdated and archaic system.”
Besides Gallagher, other troops granted clemency by Trump have also remained in the spotlight. Clint Lorance, dubbed a conservative “cause celebre” by the New York Times,Footnote 132 released his own book in 2020 entitled Stolen Honor: Falsely Accused, Imprisoned, and My Long Road to Freedom.Footnote 133 The memoir was advertised as a “captivating account of how Clint Lorance … became a scapegoat for a corrupt military hierarchy.” A Military.com feature published that year detailed Lorance’s distrust of a “bureaucratic deep state” and his plans to become an attorney so that he could revamp the UCMJ.Footnote 134 In a Q&A with UAP, Lorance also described his openness to what he labeled a “nuclear option”: running for Congress so that he can “jump up and down on people’s desks in Washington.”Footnote 135
Even before his pardon, Lorance starred from prison in the Starz documentary “Leavenworth,” a six-part miniseries available on Amazon. A New York Times headline described the production as “Putting the Army on Trial.”Footnote 136 Lorance was also the subject of his attorney’s 2019 book, Travesty of Justice: The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance.Footnote 137 Following Trump’s Blackwater pardons, Lorance began a Change.org petition to “bring … more of our comrades home.”Footnote 138 Since his release from jail, Lorance has continued to make public appearances. For example, in 2020, he was interviewed on the far-right Conservative Business Journal Podcast, which was billed as part of “The Biden Scam Series,” alongside an interview with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.Footnote 139
Lorance, who graduated from Appalachian School of Law in 2023Footnote 140 and has described himself as a “military justice reform advocate,”Footnote 141 has also taken part in several high-profile legal battles since his clemency. In 2021, as an appellant, he won a landmark victory in the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled that his receipt of a pardon did not constitute acknowledgment of guilt for war crimes.Footnote 142 The Lorance v. Commandant decision, which overturned a 2019 lower court judgment in Kansas, was the first time the U.S. court system had ruled on whether accepting a pardon intrinsically implies imputation or acceptance of guilt.Footnote 143 UAP heralded the case on social media, praising it for “now being cited as #precedent in other federal civilian appellate courts.”Footnote 144
In 2023, Lorance again made headlines when his application for the Oklahoma bar was questioned by two former soldiers with whom he served in Afghanistan. In a Twitter post receiving more than 3 million views, Todd Fitzgerald wrote that Lorance had “no moral fiber.” He recounted that, after the shooting that led to his arrest, Lorance told a group of “crying women and children” to “[s]hut the fuck up or I’ll kill you too.”Footnote 145 In an op-ed for the Army Times, another platoon mate, Mike McGuiness, wrote a scathing indictment of Lorance’s bar application, claiming that “at no point should he ever again hold a position of power or influence.”Footnote 146 Lorance’s application was also featured in the American Bar Association Journal, which asked whether he was “unfit for practice.”Footnote 147
Mathew Golsteyn has also waged a public relations campaign aimed at rehabilitating his image. In 2021, for example, Golsteyn made national headlines for “blast[ing]” a decision by the Army not to restore his special forces insignia and medals for valor after it ruled that his pardon was not a technical wiping clean of his war record.Footnote 148 He has reputedly weighed launching a formal appeal. Like Clint Lorance, UAP continues to list Golsteyn as a “presently supported warrior.”Footnote 149 Golsteyn’s wife, Julie, has also remained a vigorous advocate for her husband. In 2022, she wrote a children’s book about “bravery” based on her “life experiences.” The book was promoted on “Fox and Friends,” where Pete Hegseth called her a “powerful spokesman for [Mathew].”Footnote 150
The four Blackwater contractors pardoned by Trump have also continued to express outrage over their alleged mistreatment. Before receiving a pardon, for example, Nicholas Slatten decried that he was a “POW in … [his] own country.”Footnote 151 Shortly after his pardon, an Associated Press headline described Evan Liberty as “defiant.”Footnote 152 Newspapers have documented gallant returns of the Blackwater agents to their hometowns.Footnote 153 Dustin Heard benefited from a “Go Fund Me” campaign.Footnote 154 The Blackwater Memorial Alumni Association additionally raised funds for all four agents.Footnote 155 Today, supporters can still purchase “Raven 23 support shirts” through BlackwaterWorldWide.com.Footnote 156 The Support Raven23 organization still maintains a Twitter handle, where it follows Donald Trump Jr., the CJWC, UAP, and the rapper “Ice Cube.”Footnote 157
The Free Raven 23 Facebook page, which has 17,000 followers as of 2024 and has published numerous celebrations of the Blackwater pardons, offers a sampling of the often religious-like fervor that such initiatives have inspired.Footnote 158 Following Trump’s pardons, for example, one user remarked: “Thank you, president TRUMP!!! This has me bawling my face off!!!” Another user stated: “Praise the Lord! I cried when I heard the news.” On Free Raven 23’s Twitter page, certain tweets were equally emotional.Footnote 159 One poster declared, “Amen. Would love for y’all to write a book. #TrumpWasRightAboutEverything.”Footnote 160 Another wrote, “Praise God! I got to watch a video tonight of little Lily Slough be surprised by the best Christmas present in the world-her daddy walking in the front door.”Footnote 161
5.4 Impunity Synergies
In his second term, Trump is not just inheriting a loose impunity coalition with a temporary interest in advancing military justice reform. Instead, he is re-entering an active, well-established network of political actors dedicated to openly challenging the law of war – a network built around Trump, by Trump, and for Trump. Alongside Fox News and Republican Congress members, the organizations and individuals involved continue to amplify their influence through close, overlapping interactions with one another and the public. Both online and in-person, these activists promote Trump’s impunity agenda, resulting in a vast array of content spotlighting the cases of court-martialed American servicemembers and, more broadly, questioning the need for IHL.Footnote 162
Compared to Trump’s first term, however, the “Trump 2.0” impunity movement stands out in an important way – it appears to have even more capacity to mobilize. A key reason is the significant new role of its most prominent figure behind Trump, Pete Hegseth, who now leads the Defense Department. Indeed, Hegseth’s Senate confirmation battle alone, a months-long saga that eventually saw him confirmed on a knife’s edge, 51-50, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, typifies the impunity coalition’s invigorated capacity. When it became unclear if Hegseth would earn the support of enough moderate Republican senators to become Secretary of Defense, Fox News and GOP allies in Congress launched an aggressive campaign behind him.
One report documented a “full-court press” at Fox News for Hegseth.Footnote 163 Hegseth’s former co-anchors defended him on air,Footnote 164 even welcoming Hegseth’s mother to talk about how her son had been redeemed.Footnote 165 Other reporting confirmed that Fox News stars were “personally contacting Senators to push for Hegseth” and to provide character references. Fox News host Will Cain called allegations against Hegseth “100 percent bulls***.”Footnote 166 Fox News headlines during Hegseth’s hearing included: “Hegseth Was ‘Incredibly Talented, Battle-Proven Leader,’ Military Evaluations Show”Footnote 167 and “‘Clear Vision’: Conservatives Rally around Hegseth after ‘Crushing’ Fiery Confirmation Hearing.”Footnote 168 North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said that “[t]hey [Fox News] love him,” which he described as “very reassuring.”Footnote 169
Similar support came from Republicans on Capitol Hill. For example, thirty-two military veterans serving in the House of Representatives penned a letter backing Hegseth.Footnote 170 The letter specifically claimed that Hegseth’s “media expertise” would be “crucial in executing a clear vision that cuts through bureaucratic inertia.” Sen. Mike Rounds of North Dakota told Newsmax that Hegseth was “refreshing,” especially because of his focus on “mak[ing] the department more lethal.”Footnote 171 Sen. Rick Scott of Florida lauded Hegseth for being “clearly committed to making sure we have a lethal military that scares the crap out of our enemies.”Footnote 172 When faced with the accusation that Hegseth had a drinking problem, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma offered the excuse that “[t]here’s a lot of alcohol that flows through Washington.”Footnote 173
Other right-wing groups and individuals also defended Hegseth. The Heritage Foundation filmed a pro-Hegseth TV adFootnote 174 and published an open letter backing Hegseth signed by dozens of “prominent veterans,” including Eddie Gallagher.Footnote 175 A member of the Navy SEAL Foundation, which hosts an annual swim in New York City that Hegseth has participated in, organized a march of more than 100 Navy SEALs in favor of Hegseth during the first day of his confirmation hearings.Footnote 176 Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk, a right-wing celebrity, took to X to call crossing Hegseth a “red line.”Footnote 177 Alongside other conservative outlets, a commentator at the Daily Signal blasted the “corporate media” for being on a “search-and-destroy mission” against Hegseth.Footnote 178
Hegseth himself turned to conservative allies to argue his case and used his celebrity to make public appeals. He appeared on the Megyn Kelly podcast where he accused Democrats of operating a “classic art of the smear” against him.Footnote 179 In the Wall Street Journal, Hegseth wrote an op-ed titled, “I’ve Faced Fire Before. I Won’t Back Down.” Hegseth also personally thanked Trump on X after he doubled down in calling Hegseth a “WINNER.”Footnote 180 As he walked around Capitol Hill with an entourage (including his personal guard, a former Army Special Forces master sergeant who once beat up a civilian and hogtied him in a pool),Footnote 181 Hegseth ripped open his suit jacket in “Superman style” to reveal an American flag lining, declaring, “This is how we’re feeling today, right here.”Footnote 182
A striking example of the impunity coalition’s coordination came in response to suggestions that Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa was wavering in her support of Hegseth. A pro-Trump, dark-money group took out a TV ad in Iowa claiming that the “deep state” was trying to block Hegseth’s nomination.Footnote 183 Reports also documented a pressure campaign in Washington against Ernst to confirm Hegseth. According to an anonymous Trump ally, Hegseth became a “cause … [n]ot even for the official Trump operation, but the movement who is going apeshit for him.”Footnote 184 One well-known conservative commentator offered a stark threat: “Warning to Joni Ernst – Pete Hegseth will be just fine if you sabotage his deserved spot as SecDef … You, however, will not be fine.”Footnote 185
On the eve of his confirmation hearing, the New York Times ran a feature titled “Trump Supporters Go All In for Pete Hegseth with Money and Coordination.”Footnote 186 The article described a “phalanx of well-financed groups” backing Hegseth, including podcasters, political advocacy groups, and donors helping to make Hegseth’s “political survival a cause célèbre.” Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon reflected on how Trump’s backers had grown “more sophisticated” since Trump’s first term, commenting that “it’s got more money … a whole media and influencer ecosystem, and it started earlier, because a lot of it came out of the campaign.”Footnote 187 Another account described how pro-Hegseth advocates intimidated possible witnesses and suppressed an FBI background check on Hegseth.Footnote 188
All of this support unfolded within the broader MAGA network, where activist members of the public made clear to party officials the imperative of voting for Hegseth. For example, in response to charges that Hegseth had once drunkenly yelled “Kill all Muslims! Kill all Muslims!” (allegations that Hegseth denies), one writer commented on how “it doesn’t dim his star in MAGA world. Instead, it signals that he’s reliable. That’s a bond that neither Trump nor most of the G.O.P. caucus will want to mess with.”Footnote 189 The flurry of online support for Hegseth mirrored that of U.S. servicemembers jailed for war crimes. Supporters cast Hegseth as a folk hero, called for the primarying of Republicans who failed to back him, and expressed feelings of near-religious zeal for his confirmation.
After Hegseth was confirmed, the impunity coalition celebrated. On Hannity, Fox News’s Joe Concha heralded Hegseth as the ultimate “soldier-secretary” and praised his Fox News colleagues for being the “only people” who “both on and off camera” said that “everything reported by from the likes of NBC, and CNN, the New York Times, and others in our dying legacy media was all BS.”Footnote 190 Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma posted on X, “We did it, America. It was an honor to be in the fight with my friend, and your SecDef: @PeteHegseth.”Footnote 191 Sen. Mike Lee of Utah declared, “Heck yeah! @PeteHegseth is the man for the job.”Footnote 192 Hegseth thanked his supporters, exclaiming, “This is for the troops. For the warriors…. We will never back down.”Footnote 193
Beyond just Hegseth, the few degrees of separation between members of the “war crime lobby” are now facilitated by tight-knit personal and professional ties. “Revolving doors” produce a constant churn of activists across like-minded institutions. For example, among the members of the Pipe Hitter Foundation’s board of directors is Tommy Marquez, formerly a caseworker for CJWC co-founder Duncan Hunter. Also on the board is Carl Higbie, a Newsmax contributor.Footnote 194 Derrick Miller, the current CJWC executive director, was previously represented in his war crime case by UAP.Footnote 195 Conservative attorney Tim Parlatore, who has penned articles for Newsmax under the heading “In Defense of Justice,”Footnote 196 has represented Eddie Gallagher,Footnote 197 Pete Hegseth,Footnote 198 and Trump.Footnote 199
With the second Trump administration, however, one organization still stands out as a key node connecting national security staff who have expressed views challenging the law of war: Fox News. In addition to supplying Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, Trump’s national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz, previously a Fox News commentator, has been a vociferous critic of America’s rules of engagement.Footnote 200 Sebastian Gorka, a former Fox News contributor and Trump’s counterterrorism director, has described the West as being in a civilizational struggle against Islam, claimed that Palestine does not exist, and, according to one analysis, advocated views that “presag[ed] an approach [to the war in Gaza] that has led to tens of thousands of civilians killed in airstrikes and other attacks.”Footnote 201
In short, a cottage industry on the American right is now devoted to overturning IHL prosecutions. At its center are Trump, Fox News, and Republican lawmakers. The movement extends to numerous complementary actors. Notable is the movement’s scale and reach, tapping into millions of right-wing supporters and would-be supporters. Its multiple layers of advocacy – from top-down lobbying in government and media, to bottom-up activities by grassroots organizers – synergistically advance the impunity agenda. For now, these efforts seem unlikely to dissipate. As UAP CEO David Gurfein has predicted, “I think what we’re seeing now is the tip of the iceberg … [in] supporting those warriors who have been improperly accused of war crimes and unjustly convicted.”Footnote 202
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