On Monday, Army First Lt. Clint Lorance, 34, who served six years in prison after being sentenced to 19 years for ordering troops to open fire on three local men riding motorcycles in Afghanistan in July 2012, appeared on Fox & Friends after President Trump granted him clemency on Friday. Asked if he had a message for Trump, Lorance responded, “I love you, sir. You’re awesome. I’ll say this, Mr. President, I wish you had a better team around you. You need more people watching your back.”
Asked about former Vice President Joe Biden’s strident criticism of the president for granting clemency to three American soldiers, Lorance responded, “With all due respect to the former vice president, that seems to be a partisan answer; that seems to be something that he’s just toeing the party line on … he’s doing what he thinks his donors and the people who are signing his paycheck are expecting him to do. I think if you were to sit down with him, face-to-face, I think he’d have an issue saying that, face-to-face.”
The White House explained the pardon, writing, “In early July 2012, only days after Lieutenant Lorance had taken command of his platoon in one of the most dangerous battle zones in Afghanistan, a motorcycle with three men approached him and his men with unusual speed. Under difficult circumstances and prioritizing the lives of American troops, Lorance ordered his men to engage, and two of the three men were killed.” – READ MORE