Here's his stupid extraordinarily shallow BS attempt at justification: “You have to play the game the way they are playing the game.”

President Trump, war is not a game. People dying needlessly is not a game. These are real lives of people who had hopes and dreams. People who had a right to live their life.

This act sends the wrong message.

"Perhaps the president was seeking to shore up military support, or remind civilians of his popularity with the military at a trying political moment. Except that both the civilian and military leadership of the Department of Defense opposed the pardons. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, and senior military leaders advised against the pardons, worrying they would “damage the integrity of the military judicial system, the ability of military leaders to ensure good order and discipline, and the confidence of U.S. allies and partners who host U.S. troops.”"

"The president chose to pardon the three on the second day of televised impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives, where career diplomats have been showcasing the integrity with which they carry out the public trust. The day the pardons were issued was also the day that one of the president’s closest campaign aides, Roger Stone, was convicted on seven counts of witness tampering and lying to Congress.

Perhaps the president was hoping the pardons would distract attention from other news. Overruling the strong preferences of the civilian and military leadership would be a nontrivial price to pay for such a political benefit, but Trump wouldn’t be the first president to use our military to political advantage.

Or perhaps the president hoped the scent of pardons in the air might affect the choices of those being called to testify or who are facing charges for activities done to advance the cause of Donald Trump.

In any case, the president has yet again willingly used the military as a political tool to the detriment of the military as an institution. Whatever political value these pardons serve for the president, they are bad for the American military and bad for its relationship with broader civilian society."

Trump Sides With War Criminals

What a disgrace. If you served, President Trump has disgraced the uniform you wore. He has trashed the integrity of the US Military.