[MAIL] The US Army refused to return medals for valor to a former Green Beret who was charged with war crimes and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, unsealed documents have revealed. Retired Maj. Matthew Golsteyn was stripped of his medals and his membership in the elite Green Berets after being with charged with premeditated murder in the 2010 shooting death of a suspected Taliban bombmaker in Afghanistan.
The trial was canceled after Trump stepped in and pardoned Golsteyn by executive order in November 2019.
Golsteyn filed an appeal the following month to restore his Distinguished Service Cross, the military's second-highest honor, as well as his Special Forces tab.
But documents obtained by USA Today this week showed the Army rejected the appeal to restore Golsteyn's medals last June - six months after declining to reinstate his Special Forces designation.
In a letter disclosing the decision the board cited a letter from the Justice Department which said Trump's pardon did not fully exonerate Golsteyn.
'Presidential pardon is a sign of forgiveness and does not indicate innocence,' the board wrote.