2020. United States. Trump Pardons Blackwater. (In Progress)
Russia Is A Terrorist State Part 5 (2020 - 2021)
2020. United States. Trump Pardons Blackwater. (In Progress)
"President Donald Trump poses for a photo with students of Saint Andrew Catholic School on Friday, March 3, 2017, during a tour of the school in Orlando, Florida. Also shown is U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos" under Public Domain by the Executive Office of the President of the United States photo by Shealah Craighead
In February 2017, BuzzFeed News published an article alleging that Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm Blackwater and the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, was setting up a private army for China. According to anonymous sources, Prince was proposing to provide military services, including security training and intelligence, to Chinese companies and individuals operating in high-risk areas. The report caused controversy and criticism, with some questioning Prince’s loyalty to the United States.
In August 2017, NPR published an article providing four insights about Erik Prince. The article describes Prince's family background, his time in the Navy SEALs, the founding of Blackwater, and his political activism. Prince became increasingly involved in politics after selling Blackwater, advocating for the privatization of the war in Afghanistan and involvement in military operations in Somalia.
A September 2018 Vanity Fair article explored the rise of both Erik Prince and his sister Betsy DeVos, who at the time was the Secretary of Education in the Trump administration. The article notes the controversial histories of both Prince and DeVos, including Prince's involvement with Blackwater and DeVos's advocacy for school privatization.
In March 2020, the Chicago Tribune reported that Erik Prince had recruited ex-spies to infiltrate liberal groups, including political campaigns and unions. According to the article, Prince’s private intelligence firm, Frontier Services Group, had reportedly been hired by wealthy donors to monitor progressive groups in the United States.
In December 2020, President Donald Trump granted full pardons to four former Blackwater security contractors who had been convicted in connection with the deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. The move was widely criticized, with human rights groups, the United Nations, and some military officials condemning the pardons. The pardons caused controversy because they contradicted the Army's determination that the Blackwater guards acted improperly and against the rules of engagement when they opened fire on unarmed civilians.
In a follow-up article published in January 2021, ABC News interviewed one of the Blackwater guards who was pardoned by Trump. Nicholas Slatten, who had been convicted of first-degree murder, maintained his innocence and claimed that he had acted correctly. The article notes that the pardons granted by Trump were a rare act of clemency for contractors who had been convicted in connection with the Iraq War.
Written with ChatGPT on April 30, 2023