President Trump says he will review the case of a formerly decorated Special Forces officer who has been charged by the Army with premeditated murder in the death of a suspected Taliban bomb-maker.

“At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a ‘U.S. Military hero,’ Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas,” Trump tweeted Sunday.



At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a “U.S. Military hero,” Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas. @PeteHegseth @FoxNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2018



Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn acknowledged in an interview with Fox News in 2016 that he had killed a Taliban detainee in February 2010 so that the man could not later target Afghans who were helping U.S. troops.

Documents obtained by the Washington Post indicate two days before the detainee was killed, two Marines working with Golsteyn’s unit had died in an explosion.

When the suspected bomb-maker was brought back to Golsteyn’s base, an interaction between an Afghan tribal leader and the detainee caused the soldier to become worried that the Afghan leader’s life was in peril. Golsteyn later took the detainee off the base and shot and killed him.

The suspected bomb-maker was not on the list of targets that U.S. forces were cleared to kill.

Golsteyn first admitted to killing the man during a polygraph test while he was interviewing for a job with the CIA in 2011, the Washington Post reported last week.

The military investigated his comments but later closed the case after determining it did not have any evidence to prosecute him. The polygraph test would not be allowed in court as evidence, defense officials said. Golsteyn received an official reprimand and his Silver Star was revoked.

However, the case was reopened after Golsteyn’s comments to Fox News two year ago. He is now facing a murder charge.