对于美军总司令（即川普总统）来说，介入军事执法系统并为战犯提供赦免，特别是在审判和上诉程序之前以先发制人的方式提供赦免，是一个错误。这将破坏我们自己的行为标准 —— 因为我们训练新兵时试图不断强调要避免战争犯罪的行为，现在却要他们理解总统对战犯的赦免。赦免美军战犯增强了敌人的宣传效果，因为他们会说我们不对遵守自己设立的战争行为标准负责，而且他们这么说是对的。赦免美军战犯还破坏了我们与盟友的关系，他们有坚实的体系来防止这种战争犯罪行动。而且赦免美军战犯还刺激我们的敌人做出更野蛮的行为，因为战场上的双方都陷入了道德混乱。这种赦免也是对我们每一个严格遵守行为准则的士兵、水兵、空军和海军陆战队员的不尊重。
For the Commander-in-Chief to reach into the military system and provide a pardon, especially in a preemptive way before a trial and appeal process, is a mistake. It will undermine our own standards, as junior enlisted personnel try to understand a pardon for doing something we constantly train to avoid. It strengthens enemy propaganda, as they will correctly say that we do not hold ourselves accountable for our own standards. It undercuts our relations with allies who have strong systems in place to prevent these kinds of actions. And it spurs our enemies on to even more barbaric behavior as the battlefield descends into moral chaos on both sides of the line of combat. This kind of pardon disrespects every single one of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who follow the strict standards of the Code of Conduct.