The court-martial for Army Maj. Matthew Golsteyn, who is charged with murder after he admitted to killing an unarmed Afghan man whom a trial elder had identified as a Taliban bomb maker, has been delayed until February, the Army confirmed.
Glosteyn’s trial was supposed to begin on Dec. 2 but is now slated to start on Feb. 19, said Lt. Col. Loren Bymer, a spokesman for U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
President Donald Trump has vowed to personally review Golsteyn’s case and previously called the former Green Beret a military hero. Fox News host Pete Hegseth reported on Monday that the president could order the Army to dismiss charges against Golsteyn by Veterans Day.
In October, a military judge approved prosecutors’ request to travel to Afghanistan in order to interview relatives of the former detainee whom Golsteyn is accused of killing in February 2010.
Golsteyn maintains that he killed the Afghan man after we was released in a legal ambush as the man was trying to rejoin the Taliban.
In a news release issued by his attorney on Thursday, Golsteyn said he and his family for the support he has received from the president.
“His involvement is critical and urgently needed,” Golsteyn said in the news release. “We hope to get the good news soon. In the meantime, our family is so appreciative of the support we have received from around the nation from other military families and friends.”