Army Maj. Matthew Golsteyn has been denied travel that would have given him access to meet with his legal counsel as he faces a charge of premeditated murder of a Taliban bomb maker in 2010, an allegation he had been cleared of in the past after the Army determined there was insufficient evidence to proceed with charges.
Julie Golsteyn, Matt Golsteyn’s wife, posted to social media last week that her husband was denied travel for five days that would have allowed him to meet with his legal team in D.C.
“Today is day 1 of 5 that Matt should be meeting with part of his legal team in D.C.,” Julie wrote on July 15. “However, he is at [Fort] Bragg to check in each day at 0900 and 1600. He has once again been denied access to legal counsel and the right to participate in his own defense. This is not the first time.”
Matt Golsteyn is required to report twice a day to Fort Bragg in North Carolina while he awaits his trial, slated for this November, according to his family.
LTC. Todd Sunday earlier this month recommended that Matt Golsteyn’s request for leave in order to meet with his legal counsel not be approved.
“Regarding your current requests for PTDY [permissive temporary duty authorization], I have forwarded the attached forms to the appropriate approval authority for consideration. Be advised, I recommended disapproval for both requests based on the fact that the provisions for PTDY in AR 600-8-10 do not support a request for PTDY in either situation,” Sunday wrote in an email reviewed by American Military News.
On his request form, Matt Golsteyn had asked for permissive leave from July 15 through 19 to meet with his legal counsel in northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.; specifically, his request said to “attend meetings with legal counsel.”
He had been working in D.C. prior to this, after leaving the Army in 2016 to seek civilian employment. He lives in Virginia with Julie and has two sons, 12 years old and 10 months old, respectively.
Matt Golsteyn earlier this month pleaded not guilty to the Army’s allegations that he murdered a suspected Taliban bomb maker in 2010. He is charged with one count of premeditated murder on Feb. 22, 2010. Matt Golsteyn has admitted to killing a Taliban bomb maker, whom he identified as the terrorist responsible for the deaths of two U.S. Marines he was commanding in Afghanistan, and that the act was justified during wartime.
In 2010, he admitted to the CIA during a job interview to killing a terrorist whom he said was responsible for making the bombs that killed two other U.S. service members. There was an investigation at the time, and Golsteyn was cleared of wrongdoing after the Army determined there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
But then, in 2016, Golsteyn appeared in a Fox News interview and admitted again to killing the terrorist bomb maker, and the Army opened a second investigation, charging Golsteyn with premeditated murder, which carries a potential life sentence in prison or the death penalty.
In March, Golsteyn waived his Article 32 hearing, which is meant to present evidence and determine whether or not a service member accused of a crime should be court-martialed. After evidence is presented, an officer is to make a recommendation to a commander on whether or not to prosecute.
In May, the Army decided that the case would move forward to a court-martial trial.
Golsteyn’s case has caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who is December 2018 said he would review the case.
“At the request of many. I will be reviewing the case of a ‘U.S. Military hero,’ Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder,” Trump had tweeted.
And Trump was reportedly preparing to review pardons for Golsteyn and other service members accused of war crimes, The New York Times had reported this year.
Back in February, the lead investigator in the case – Sgt. 1st Class Mark Delacruz, an Army Criminal Investigation Command special agent – was charged with stolen valor.
Delacruz allegedly falsified documents to show that he’d earned awards he never actually received, and even went so far as to wear the awards, including the Purple Heart, Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge and Combat Action Badge.
