Retired FBI agent, ex-ICoCA board members disgusted with Trump Backwater pardons

A retired agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two former board members of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) have expressed outrage over US President Donald Trump’s issuance of pardons for four Blackwater contractors convicted of killing at least 14 Iraqi civilians in a 2007 Baghdad massacre.

John M. Patarini, a retired FBI agent, wrote in a letter to the editor of The New York Times that he led the investigation into Baghdad’s Nisour Square massacre, noting that he initially thought the shooting was some form of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire between the guards and militants at the time.

After only one week, Patarini, however, discovered that the incident was not as what Blackwater, now renamed Academi, personnel and State Department officials had described, but it was actually a carnage similar to the My Lai massacre where  between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians were killed by US Army soldiers during the Vietnam War. 

The retired FBI agent then pointed to a political push by members of Congress for the pardons, saying Trump should have had staff members review the trial evidence that led to the convictions and read the judges’ opinions and sentencing statements.

“I’m so disgusted with the president’s actions! I am embarrassed for our country. I believe we will pay a heavy price in our relationships with other countries as a result of these pardons,” Patarini wrote.

Iraq denounces Trump’s pardon of Blackwater guards

Donald Trump issued pardons for four Blackwater contractors jailed for the 2007 killing of Iraqi civilians.

Michael Posner also noted that it took seven years for the US government to successfully prosecute the Blackwater contractors, arguing that the outgoing US president shamefully pardoned the four perpetrators and upended such a valuable example of accountability.

“Trump’s pardon underscores the need for governments to bolster ICoCA’s role in monitoring private security firms and addressing abuses when they occur,” Posner commented.

He called on the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden to support ICoCA’s important global mission, by providing financial and diplomatic support and by requiring private security companies doing business with US agencies to participate in the association’s monitoring and assessment program.

Finally, Karen Porter personally apologized to the Iraqi people not only for the US-led invasion and occupation but also for what she described as “despicable pardons” of four convicted killers of Baghdad’s crowded Nisour Square.

“I’m sure I speak for millions of Americans who are horrified by these pardons and are truly sorry. Our apologies may not help, but we still must offer them,” she said.

In 2014, four former US government contractors who worked for Blackwater were convicted in federal court in Washington in connection with the Iraq killings in 2007.

Iraqi govt. urged to take Trump's pardons for Blackwater guards to intl. court, UNSC

An Iraqi lawmaker calls on the Baghdad government to take Trump’s pardons for Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraqi civilians to an international court as well as the Security Council.

Nicholas Slatten was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of manslaughter and weapons charges.

Prosecutors said the Blackwater convoy “launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers.”

Blackwater was founded by Erik Prince, a staunch Trump ally and the brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

The notorious company was one of several private military firms hired to assist the US army in Iraq following its 2003 invasion and occupation of the Arab country.

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