The Army has rejected an appeal to return medals for valor to retired Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, a Special Forces soldier former President Donald Trump pardoned for alleged murder in Afghanistan. It was one of three high-profile cases in which Trump interceded on behalf of troops accused of war crimes.
The decision regarding Golsteyn, reached last June, was not announced by the Army in Trump's final months as president but is revealed in documents released to USA TODAY. The Army also denied Golsteyn's request to restore his Special Forces tab, marking his service as a member of an elite unit, and the letter of reprimand placed in his personnel file.

A Green Beret, Golsteyn was charged with killing a suspected bomb maker who had been ordered released after questioning in Afghanistan in 2010. Golsteyn admitted during an interview to join the CIA that he had killed the man. That launched an Army investigation that culminated in the murder charge, but Trump's pardon canceled his court martial.

Golsteyn had appealed to the board in December 2019 to restore his Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor for valor in combat. Initially, Golsteyn had been awarded a Silver Star for heroism, but it had been upgraded after a review. 
Trump took up Golsteyn's cause and that of two other service members accused of war crimes after their stories were championed in conservative news media. Trumppardoned Golsteyn and Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, and reversed the demotion for Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher. Trump's extraordinary intervention in military justice cases created turmoil in Pentagon leadership, leading to the firing of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer for interceding in Gallagher's case.

The Army review board's decision on Golsteyn, obtained by a researcher and shared with USA TODAY, shows that the panel denied all of his claims. The board cited a letter in his case from the Justice Department that Trump's pardon did not wipe clean Golsteyn's record.
The "Presidential pardon is a sign of forgiveness and 'does not indicate innocence,'” the board wrote.