An Ex-Trump Official Got Tricked Into Thanking War Criminal William Calley For His ‘Service’ On Veteran’s Day

Oh boy. As you are likely aware, Veterans Day happened on Wednesday, and that meant lots of social media shoutouts with the customary “thank you for your service” sentiment attached. In the process of that whirlwind, The Nation’s Ken Klippenstein tricked an ex-Trump official, Richard Grenell (who served as acting director of the U.S. National Intelligence), into giving a shoutout to Klippenstein’s “grandfather” while tweeting a photo of convicted war criminal Bill Calley. For his part, Grenell walked right into that trap with Klippenstein providing receipts.

It’s a sneaky little maneuver but nonetheless funny, given that Grenell was all-too-eager to greet his “huge fan,” and of course, he was neither tipped off by the supplied photo or the claimed name that Klippenstein provided. So, this actually turned into Grenell enthusiastically tweeting, “Thank you for your service, Bill Calley!” Of course, it’s been preserved for all of posterity, and the moment hit CNN as well.

Bill Calley was charged for his acts during the 1968 My Lai Massacre in Vietnam and convicted of personally murdering 22 civilians. He was the only member of his platoon to be convicted and only served house-arrest time (three and a half years) before President Nixon moved to keep him from serving time in an actual prison.

Should Grenell have recognized Calley’s name? Surely. He’s worked for the State Department and in various foreign policy capacities since 2001. It also appears that Klippenstein tried to trick ex-CIA director Michael Hayden (who worked under Obama and George W. Bush), who realized “exactly what was happening,” but “Grenell surely didn’t… He’s an asshole. Again and again.”

As for Grenell’s response after the trick, he wasn’t pleased. “Duped. Trying to be helpful to people who reach out on Veteran’s Day,” Grenell wrote. “It’s a shame people would do this on a day like today. DC is a sick city.”

(Via Business Insider)