It is a:
Posted on 07/20/2026 2:16:00 PM PDT by xxqqzz
The attorney for an imprisoned Navy admiral told Military.com that efforts are underway to either get his conviction reversed, or to receive a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Retired four-star Navy Adm. Robert P. Burke, 63, of Coconut Creek, Fla., once the second-highest uniformed Navy officer who formerly commanded forces in Africa, Europe and Russia, was found guilty in May 2025 of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States following a five-day trial. He was sentenced in September to six years in prison.
His case received revived attention in May 2026, when Burke's alleged co-conspirators—Next Jump co-CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger—were found not guilty of conspiracy or bribery by a federal jury in Washington D.C. Kim and Messenger were on trial in 2025, with their cases resulting in a hung jury and a mistrial.
The most recent trial included prosecutorial allegations that the pair agreed to pay Burke a $500,000 salary with stock options projected to be worth millions of dollars, according to the Associated Press, in exchange for Burke ordering staffers to give a contract to Next Jump—a New York-headquartered technology company that Kim founded in 1994—and to promote the company’s product to other senior Navy commanders.
Legal Efforts to Drop Burke's Verdict Timothy Parlatore, who represented Burke in his case, told Military.com that an appeal was argued around mid-March in the D.C. Circuit to an appellate court on grounds of Burke's statements being purportedly edited and misinterpreted by federal prosecutors.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
You did the crime. Do the time and pray for God’s forgiveness.
....soooo...what’s so wrong with that....? doesn’t that sort of thing go on all the time...?..didn’t President-in-name-only Sleepy Joe’s DecDefense Four-star General Lloyd Austin get a cushy job with Raytheon and others after he retired from the Army and before be became SecDef...?? it happens all the time....
Yeah, the “bribers” were acquitted. Seems unusual to prosecute for something like that. There must be enough admirals, etc. taking cash, etc. to go after.
One was a hung jury and the other was a mistrial - those people were not “found not guilty”. Words mean things (posthumous H/T to El Rushbo)
He shoulda gone for one of those book deals....
It is a:
What’s wrong with that?
He helped Yongchul “Charlie” Kim get the contract and not some former Navy officers.
My takeaway form this is that the object is to adjudicate rules and not justice.
He should do the time, but I think it’s outrageous that we have such a selective form of justice in this country. WHY does he go to jail and the Russia collusion hoaxers are still not indicted? They attempted a coup against a sitting President, an act of treason if you ask me and they are still waltzing around free as air.
Military law is not identical to civillian law.
That was the 2025 trial. They were apparently found not guilty in a second trial this year.
Perhaps it’s just that Kim and Messenger had an extra $500k on hand.
As a newly minted second lieutenant, these things were only further affirmed. When we became aware of higher echelon leaders committing um, "indiscretions," and then largely skating by, it was disheartening, not because I wished I could get away with it, but because the ideals I was striving to live up to may not have been as important to everybody else as I was told they were supposed to be.
I take no joy in seeing a senior officer prosecuted or imprisoned; I would much prefer our senior leadership live up to the ideals that should be part of the profession. That said, if he did violate the UCMJ or other pertinent federal law(s), his rank should not insulate him from accountability.
If this guy had been a senator, he would have been acquitted, and the bribers found guilty.
The revolving door is not illegal. Making a deal, quid pro quo, is illegal.
In theory, one gains expertise in the military (civilian or military) and that helps the company. Also, expertise working for company can be of benefit to the military. That’s the theory anyway. Proponents can explain it better than me.
Would anything be lost if we closed the revolving door? Would defense contractors fail to understand the military? Fail to appreciate the military perspective? Fail to appreciate the military desire to save military lives? I don’t know.
Well said!
Why would he deserve a pardon? Sounds guilty as sin.
If the Judge excluded potentially favorable facts and testimony, that a due process violation. As a minimum, he is entitled to a new trial.
I agree in general.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.