The former U.S. solider convicted of murdering an Iraqi prisoner said he initially didn’t answer a White House call informing him of a presidential pardon because he thought it may have been a telemarketer.
Michael Behenna, who in 2009 received a 15-year sentence for shooting and killing Ali Mansur Mohamed, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was on the phone with his father when he received a call from the White House.
{mosads}Behenna said he didn’t recognize the number and ignored it but returned the call after seeing a message that said President Trump was granting him a pardon and wanted to speak to him.
He said the president called him soon after.
Trump issued a pardon to the former Army first lieutenant earlier this week, with the White house saying that Behenna was “entirely deserving of this Grant of Executive Clemency.”
“Mr. Behenna’s case has attracted broad support from the military, Oklahoma elected officials, and the public,” the White House said in a statement, noting that several generals and admirals, as well as numerous Oklahoma officials have expressed support for Behenna.
Behenna was convicted of the 2008 killing of Mansur, a suspected al Qaeda operative whom Behenna was tasked with returning to his hometown due to insufficient evidence about his ties to the group.
Behenna was released from prison in 2014 and was set to remain on parole until 2024. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter (R) had recently petitioned the Trump administration to pardon Behenna, an Oklahoma native.
“I commend President Trump’s decision to grant a full pardon for Mr. Behenna,” Hunter said in a statement following the pardon. “Mr. Behenna served his country with distinction, honor and sacrifice. He has admitted to his mistakes, has learned from them and deserves to move on from this incident without living under its cloud for the rest of his life.”