Trump adviser stands by saying Clinton should be executed: 'I'll never ever give up my freedom of speech'

CLEVELAND - Donald Trump's veterans adviser, Al Baldasaro, on Thursday stood by his statements from Tuesday that Hillary Clinton should be "shot for treason" on a "firing line," telling Business Insider that "I'll never ever give up my freedom of speech."

"The liberal media took what I said and turned it around," Baldasaro said. "I spoke as a veteran, and I can't remember word-for-word, but I said the emails with names of special forces, Secret Service, DEA, on those servers - if the enemy got that information, those people would be killed in other countries. That's treason."

He said veterans "all over the country" called him and thanked him for the sentiment.

"It's been unbelievable the calls I've been getting," he said, later adding, "I'm a veteran. I've been a veteran long before I was a Republican."

Baldasaro, who also serves as a New Hampshire representative and a Trump delegate at the Republican National Convention, said on The Jeff Kuhner Show on Tuesday that Clinton "is a disgrace for ... the lies she told those mothers about their children that got killed over there in Benghazi. She dropped the ball on over 400 emails requesting backup security. Something's wrong there."

"Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason," he continued.

Those comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee were first reported by BuzzFeed.

The Secret Service told ABC News on Thursday they were investigating Baldasaro for the remarks.