Green Beret accused of killing suspected Taliban bomb maker facing 'agonizing' wait for trial, wife says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The family of a decorated former Green Beret who is charged with killing a suspected Taliban bomb maker in 2010 is facing another roadblock in the military justice system, his wife told “Fox & Friends” on Saturday.
The U.S. Army has delayed a motions hearing in Maj. Matt Golsteyn’s case to the week of Sept. 9, Julie Golsteyn told Pete Hegseth. No reason was given for the delay. Matt Golsteyn’s trial is expected to begin in November.
“If we can count on one thing from the prosecution and the investigators and the leadership of the Army, it is that they will always do the wrong thing,” Julie Golsteyn said. “That’s all we can count on in this.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this photo taken Jan. 4, 2011, U.S Army Capt. Mathew Golsteyn is congratulated by fellow soldiers following the Valor Awards ceremony for 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. (James Robinson/The Fayetteville Observer via AP).
Matt Golsteyn is charged with premeditated murder in the death of the suspected militant in 2010. An initial investigation by the Army didn’t find sufficient evidence to bring charges.
The Army opened a second investigation in 2016 and charged Golsteyn in December 2018. He could face life in prison if convicted.
In an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends" this past February, Golsteyn claimed that he killed the suspected bomb maker while conducting an ambush and vigorously disputed the charge against him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Over these years, what the U.S. Army seems to be intent on doing is characterizing an ambush as murder," Golsteyn said. "Those routine combat actions are now being characterized as murder."
Golsteyn left the military in 2016 and worked as a civilian in Washington, D.C. His family, including a 13-year-old son and an 11-month-old son, live in Virginia, but Golsteyn is required to report twice daily to Fort Bragg, N.C., because of the case.
“It is agonizing and quite frankly terrifying to have your life played with and your family’s future manipulated by people who are just truly depraved and at the same time unbelievably incompetent,” Julie Golsteyn said Saturday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Matt and I are real people. We have children to raise,” she added. “Matt’s 13-year-old son lives in our home full-time. This week Matt will miss his first day of school, the first week of school. He missed almost his whole first year of middle school last year. We have a very puzzled 11-month-old who loves when his daddy’s home and is awfully confused when he leaves for periods of time to be at Fort Bragg for no other reason than the jollies of a lieutenant colonel.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The process has affected the couple's health and the well-being of the family itself, Julie Golsteyn said.
“It creeps into every portion of your life when this, what we have been told is a fair justice process is weaponized to destroy you,” she added. “ ... They have no new evidence,” she said. “If they have nothing to hide and they truly believe my husband murdered someone in cold blood, then they should have no problem justifying their stance.”
Julie Golsteyn also claimed to Fox News that the prosecutors and investigators are “still looking for evidence.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“They charged Matt and didn’t have any [evidence], as they have claimed,” she noted.
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Matt Golsteyn's case has garnered the attention of President Donald Trump, who tweeted in December that he "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."