Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) testified at the military trial for Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller who criticized the U.S. handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan and it went as badly as one would expect.
The Military Times reported that when Scheller’s defense team called Greene to testify during the sentencing phase of the special court-martial session, the tablet showing her Zoom testimony fell down, and things went downhill from there.
According to the Times, Greene was cut off multiple times by Col. Glen Hines, the military judge overseeing the case. Greene also veered off track to recount her personal 9/11 experience and aired familiar political grievances while calling for President Joe Biden to resign. The Marine Corps’ top prosecutor, Lt. Col. Nicholas Gannon repeatedly objected to her testimony since most of it was not relevant to the facts of the case.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), and Rep. Ralph Norman, (R-S.C) also testified at the trial.
Scheller pleaded guilty to all charges against him as part of a plea agreement with the Corps.
On August 26, Scheller took to social media to demand accountability from senior military officials for failures in the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The video was posted the same day that 13 US troops were killed in an attack on the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
“The reason people are so upset on social media right now is not because the Marines on the battlefield let someone down. … People are upset because their senior leaders let them down. And none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying, ‘We messed this up,’” he said.
He spent a week in confinement and was court-martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on Thursday.
He was convicted of violating Article 88 (contempt toward officials), Article 89 (disrespect toward superior commissioned officers), Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer), Article 92 (dereliction in the performance of duties), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) and 27 specifications of Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman), according to the Military Times.
He was sentenced on Friday to receive a punitive letter of reprimand and forfeit $5,000 of one month’s pay, Task and Purpose reports. Prosecutors had asked that Scheller forfeit $5,000 monthly for six months.
Scheller will also now begin the process of leaving the service, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Samuel Stephenson said. The nature of Scheller’s discharge will be determined by the Navy secretary, Carlos del Toro.
The sentence was actually lighter than the maximum punishment allowed under an agreement reached with prosecutors, which was to forfeit two-thirds of one months pay for 12 months, Task & Purpose noted. However, the judge said he gave Scheller credit for time he had served in the brig.
