Dillon called the arrest a "significant blow to Daesh," using the Arabic acronym for the extremist group. He told us there was a process to report these crimes and he had already notified our troop commander, Lt. Cmdr. [45] A week earlier, Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer had sent Trump a note asking him not to intervene again. That is best sailor, in all 6 teams on the West Coast: NSWU-1, NSWU-3, SDVT-1. Rob Breisch, while we were still in Iraq. That is best sailor, in all 6 teams on the West Coast: NSWU-1, NSWU-3, SDVT-1. Eddie Gallagher The SO1 sniper said that Gallagher just wanted to hash out petty theft allegations tied to the disappearance of snacks on deployment, but he was soon confronted about tactical decisions he made in Iraq, including using the platoon as bait to draw Islamic State fire. And still more SEALs say theyll tell the panel that Gallagher attempted to cover up these alleged crimes by threatening to murder witnesses and embarking on a campaign to identify other whistleblowers, get them blacklisted in the special warfare community and ruin their careers. Please check your inbox to confirm. These werent SEAL tactics. Platoon members said they saw Chief Gallagher shoot civilians and fatally stab a wounded captive with a hunting knife. The accusations against Eddie were numerous, with the most prominent being the alleged murder of an Iraqi prisoner of war. That said, facts are facts. Many people have asked why we didnt report these crimes as soon as they happened and instead waited months to report them. They also have other texts where he threatens to kill his platoon. Jason Hull). Others were angry that he had been recommended for a post-tour combat valor award the Silver Star an honor they thought he didnt deserve. As much as some fringe creatures want to argue about our rules of engagement, ROEs were not the problem on this deployment. One of the SEALs overhead the chief say he was OK with shooting women and another saw him fire into a crowd of what appeared to be noncombatants multiple times," records state. [5] Some of these charges, such as flying a drone over a corpse, were dismissed during preliminary hearings. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. Instead, he remembered the other girls looking in the direction of the SEALs right after the girl was shot.. We didnt focus on keeping evidence that would hold up in court. We even talked to Jocko Willink about taking pictures just last week. Retired SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher sues Navy One of the members of Gallaghers unit Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7 is expected to testify that Gallagher confessed that he killed four women, according to Naval Criminal Investigative Service files and legal records provided to Navy Times. And, lastly, there was this piece of sort of a bombshell development, where one of the prosecution's main witnesses, this medic who was there, says, after he saw Gallagher's stab the captive, it was he, the medic, who then killed the captive, not Gallagher. Support C&L Go Ad-Free Today and blamed his accusers for being the cowards. They also portrayed the SEALs in Gallagher's platoon Gallagher is 40 years old now. Well, I guess that's not lighter. On September 11, 2018, Gallagher was arrested at Camp Pendleton and charged with premeditated murder, attempted murder, obstruction of justice, and other offenses. ", "Trump Orders Navy to Strip Medals From Prosecutors in War Crimes Trial", "The Prosecutors who lost the case against SEAL Eddie Gallagher (who I released from solitary confinement so he could fight his case properly), were ridiculously given a Navy Achievement Medal. [5] Gallagher allegedly boasted about the large number of people he had killed, claiming he averaged three kills a day over 80 days, including four women. Gallagher, 40, was acquitted of murder and nearly all related charges in a court martial trial last year. Support C&L Go Ad-Free Today and blamed his accusers for being the cowards. But at the beginning of the probe, two interviews with SEALs still on active duty today seemed to propel the larger NCIS investigation. At no time is loyalty to each other put over loyalty to the country and mission. Both are expected to testify that it was clear the man was a noncombatant and they made the decision not to shoot, according to a filing provided to defense attorneys. [9], Gallagher was involved in controversies and investigations, but received few formal reprimands. This story is all bad and just when you think it's behind us, there's another headline that brings it all back. He also told NCIS that Gallagher had shot at but missed another young girl in a previous incident. Giorgio Kirylo testifying that he saw Gallagher try to save the prisoner, and observed no stab wounds on the dead man. [18][19] This was the first time a President directly intervened in an imprisonment conditions matter since President Richard Nixon intervened in favor of Lieutenant William Calley, one of the perpetrators of the My Lai Massacre, by ordering him released from a military brig to house arrest in 1971. He insisted that he then saw the chief stab the ISIS fighter multiple times in the right side of the neck in a manner that was in no way a medical procedure, according to an NCIS report. It is not always pretty, but just like first responders, that is the nature of our work. In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, one of Gallaghers attorneys, Tim Parlatore, did not specify what his clients future project will be or when it will release but did disclose that it will include more footage from the NCIS interviews and the 2017 deployment. [46], On November 24, 2019, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he had learned that Spencer made a private offer to the White House that if the White House did not interfere, he would guarantee that Gallagher would keep his Trident pin. [33], After the trial, it was considered possible that Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, the SEAL Medic whose surprise testimony dismantled the prosecution's case, would be prosecuted for perjury; however, Chief of Naval Operations John M. Richardson stripped Navy prosecutors of their authority to charge Scott with perjury. A pirate is someone who is a little bit sloppier, messier, but is still a very effective fighter, Dylan Dille, another SEAL sniper and one of Gallaghers accusers, says in the first episode. We arent lawyers. Theres the fog of war, of course, but several statements display fundamental disagreements about what occurred on the battlefield and was rehashed during meetings with each other and their superiors back in California. There is a digital trove of evidence a mile long where Eddie violated dozens of articles of the UCMJ. @foxandfriends @RepRalphNorman", "Will Trump Go Nixonian With Clemency for War Criminals? He remembered attending Bible study at the home of the chief and his wife, Andrea, who led the class. He insisted they all made the story up because THEY were afraid of Eddie Gallagher It appears largely stitched together from interviews with 11 Alpha Platoon members seven first class petty officers, two second class petty officers and a lieutenant a group that comprises about half of the force on the deployment, including their attachments from other Navy units, the Air Force and Marine Corps. That said, facts are facts. He was attached to a U.S. Marine Corps unit until he enrolled in Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL (BUD/S) class 252 to become a Navy SEAL in 2005. It has been speculated that this image was intended to find leakers violating the judge's gag order, as reporters (including Prine) have repeatedly scooped private documents related to the case. They said that he went up in the sniper tower and shot at civilians. When he returned from packing his gear, however, the LPO told NCIS he found Portier conducting a hasty re-enlistment ceremony for Gallagher next to the body of the dead ISIS fighter, according to the report. [27] According to anonymous administration sources, the Justice Department was reviewing Gallagher's case in preparation for a possible pardon from President Trump. One dude I was good friends with was so paranoid that he hadn't taken a single picture with his son. The lead investigator for Naval Investigations, Joe Warpinski, he had only been with NCIS for two-and-a-half years before he got this incredibly high-profile war crimes case. I hoped the men who were acquitted or pardoned would use their platforms to bring awareness about issues facing veterans and active-duty members. This one involved whats called a switchblade drone that was operated by the platoon on Aug. 1 that killed civilians in Tal Afar, according to legal filings. And he told Warpinski he wasnt alone in the southern tower Lt. Portier, a staff sergeant from Marine Forces Special Operations Command and an SO1 from DEVGRU were with him. [27] Hunter told reporters that he intended to ask for a presidential pardon if Gallagher was convicted. But, the good comes with the bad. He wants to help NCIS agents get Eddie, said Parlatore. Eddie Gallagher Gallagher went to trial last summer on charges that he murdered an Islamic State prisoner of war and committed other war crimes in May 2017 outside Mosul, Iraq. action against Gallagher after [8] On March 30, President Donald J. Trump intervened and ordered Gallagher transferred to "less restrictive confinement" after complaints from his supporters, particularly commentators on Fox and Friends, about his detainment. He's been following the story for KPBS Public Media in San Diego, and he was there for the verdict and sentencing today. After watching the mini-series The Line, do you believe Multiple witnesses are expected to testify that they were far less effective in combat because their focus shifted from fighting ISIS to protecting civilians and they lost faith in Gallagher as a platoon chief because he was firing indiscriminately at civilians," a file states. Eddie Gallagher and the changing story [16] The defense argued that Gallagher's text messages merely reflected dark comedy in a stressful situation, and that his more outrageous boasts, such as killing twenty people a day, were clearly impossible. "[citation needed], Gallagher was one of three military personnel accused or convicted of war crimes on whose behalf Trump had intervened to pardon or promote. [9], A charge of obstruction of justice was brought against Gallagher for alleged witness intimidation. Gallagher cut ties with Vokey and the United American Patriots in March 2019 and directed supporters to use a different non-profit to raise funds for his defense, the Navy SEALs Fund. Directors Doug Shultz and Jeff Zimbalist secured the participation of Gallagher; his wife, Andrea; and the members of SEAL Team 7 who accused Gallagher of war crimes. The charges were lodged and prosecution depended heavily on statements made against Gallagher by platoon mates who deployed with him to Iraq to fight ISIS in 2017. The guy is freaking evil, Miller told the investigators. Parlatore said that information in the video about the SEALs was already known. Chief Eddie Gallagher (right, in cap) takes control of a prisoner (far left), an ISIS fighter who had been wounded. In that second session, the SO1 sniper recalled being inserted into a position near Mosul around 3 a.m. the southern of two towers but didnt give an exact date. Several of them said that they saw him stab this alleged captive ISIS prisoner. The LPO told NCIS that he informed both Portier and his assistant officer in charge of the platoon about the alleged murder. Gallagher was charged with murdering 17-year-old Khaled Jamal Abdullah in 2018, along with other charges. Real brothers dont chase medals. Well, Gallagher's team said that, essentially, they portrayed this as an investigation that was out of control, that had targeted Gallagher from the very beginning. "Not a single one of us could have imagined that we would have to report a friend and mentor. The fact is that we reported these crimes to Portier, who said he would handle it. Instead, most only heard about Gallagher committing the same kinds of horrific acts as the people we were sent to fight. Photographic and video images reviewed by Navy Times seem fragmentary and inconclusive. Yet few people heard about the lives saved, people liberated, or hope restored in Mosul. Almost immediately after seeing the group, one of the girls in a grey dress grabbed her stomach and fell to the ground after she was shot, the SO1 said. [1] Other snipers said they witnessed Gallagher taking at least two militarily pointless shots, shooting and killing an unarmed elderly man in a white robe as well as a young girl walking with other girls. To the SO1, it was a sign that Gallagher was putting his beliefs into action. He emerges in the reams of testimony as the most prominent SEAL pushing superiors to block his former platoon chiefs advancement and Silver Star and terminate him from his training assignment. They were very celebratory. [54] "The guy is freaking evil," Special Operator First (SO1) Class Craig Miller said. [28] This potential pardon was hotly criticized in the Washington Post's opinion pages. (Army). [17] For the most serious charge of murder of a prisoner, according to the defense, Gallagher stabbed a corpse and embellished a story out of misplaced bravado; the prisoner had already died of his wounds. Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Releases The Names The rest of his platoon was much younger. Click here. [6] On October 18, Lieutenant Jacob Portier of Gallagher's platoon was also charged with failing to properly notify his superiors within the chain of command, to include the destruction of evidence. Theres nothing in that video thats not already public, he told the newspaper. According to his first lawyer, Colby Vokey, Gallagher did not pay Vokey's specified rate, and he filed an arbitration claim against Gallagher. Gallagher was charged with murdering 17-year-old Khaled Jamal Abdullah in 2018, along with other charges. Later that night, the LPO gathered the platoons enlisted SEALs together and told them that morally they could not let these actions continue, so if Iraqi security forces brought more prisoners to them they should send them away so Gallagher could not injure anyone else, according to the NCIS report. [59][60][61], Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL (BUD/S), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, "What motivated fellow SEALs to dime out Eddie Gallagher? [1] Gallagher also was reportedly known for indiscriminately spraying neighborhoods with rockets and machine gun fire with no known enemy force in the region. [19], On November 21, President Trump tweeted, "The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher's Trident Pin. | These werent SEAL tactics. New York Times reporter Dave Philipps joins Deadline White House panel to discuss the Navy SEALs' testimony against Eddie Gallagher. Directors Doug Shultz and Jeff Zimbalist secured the participation of Gallagher; his wife, Andrea; and the members of SEAL Team 7 who accused Gallagher of war crimes. Would we do something different if we could go back in time? [8] He received positive evaluations from his superiors within the SEALs, and served as an instructor in the SEALs BUD/S program for recruits. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Absolutely. [38] The jury gave Gallagher, who had already served the maximum prison time for this charge, a demotion from Chief Petty Officer (E-7) to Petty Officer First Class (E-6); this was lighter than other potential punishments, such as an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge, which were not handed down. Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALs Who Turned [1] Some potential witnesses were non-cooperative, citing the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination when refusing to testify. Gallagher was charged with murdering 17-year-old Khaled Jamal Abdullah in 2018, along with other charges. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. Green Berets. Gallagher then text messaged a friend in California a picture of himself holding the dead captive's (ISIS) head by the hair with the explanation "Good story behind this, got him with my hunting knife.[9][13], Prosecutors alleged that Gallagher's sniper work during his 2017 deployment became "reckless" and "bloodthirsty". He described Gallaghers knife as the same weapon the chief always carried in a leather sheath. The decorated Navy Seal was also accused of being reckless with his sniper rifle, and some of his platoon mates alleged that he shot at unarmed civilians. [41][42], After the closure of the case, Gallagher and his initial lawyer entered a dispute in August 2019. The request was initially rejected by Rear Admiral Bette Bolivar. Spencer responded that terminating this probe could only be done via an official written order from the White House. In a statement Thursday, May 10, 2018, coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon said that U.S.-backed Syrian forces have captured five senior Islamic State group leaders. Gallagher's accusers painted him as a bloodthirsty warrior who was out of control in Iraq in 2017. That SO1 told NCIS he left as the other two SEALs continued working on the prisoner, although other interviews and the prosecutions own legal filings in the case portray a chaotic scene, with memories about the incident often jumbled by all the witnesses. In a three-minute video posted to hisFacebook pageandInstagram accountMonday, retired Chief Special Operator Edward Gallagher, 40, referred to some members of his former platoon as cowards and highlighted names, photos and for those still on active duty their duty status and current units, something former SEALs say places those men and the Navys mission in jeopardy. He was slated to be awarded a Silver Star during that fateful deployment in Mosul when the Because of ICFM gains, Islamic State fighters had been pushed back from their main positions and were retreating into the city. Reddit Gallagher and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Jake Portier, then posed for photographs of them standing over the body with some other nearby SEALs. [5], The case was considered to be a "difficult"[15] one because the Navy did not begin a formal investigation for nearly a year after the reports were made and by then much of the physical evidence, such as the bodies of those alleged to be killed by Gallagher, were not recoverable. Eddie Gallagher [1], In March 2019, former Navy SEAL and U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas and seventeen other Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to then-Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer asking for Gallagher's pre-trial confinement to be reviewed. Three other SEALs are slated to say their platoon chief took "random shots, sometimes into buildings, where he claimed to have killed someone, similar filings allege. To attempt to out (their) status raises questions about the decision to do so.. NCIS reported that a second class petty officer also saw Gallagher stab the prisoner, but later internal messages shared between defense attorneys and Navy officials appear to indicate that he thought the chief sank his knife into the detainees torso and the boy already had died. One other Marine raider who was there also said that he saw no stab wounds on the dead body. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. It's just wildly different than anything Eddie Gallagher related. This is the reason that other countries call us to solve their problems. Raiders. My character and honor are steadfast. According to an April 20, 2018, NCIS interview with Lt. Cmdr. Throughout the trial, Gallagher acted as though it was not he who had been accused of wrongdoing but the investigators, prosecutors and witnesses. And others have declined to participate in the ongoing NCIS probe, including a Marine staff sergeant and a pair of Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians attached to the platoon during the 2017 deployment. WebAnswer (1 of 13): I will admit out right that I havnt liked Eddie since he was my buddy Daves LPO. Eddie Gallagher and the changing story Former Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher posted the 3-minute video on both his Facebook and Instagram channels Monday. Sometimes Lt. Portier would make excuses for Gallagher, and sometimes he assured us that he had taken action against him. A retired Navy SEAL acquitted of nearly all charges in a high-profile war crimes case brought on by testimony from his platoon mates released a video identifying some of those same men, calling them cowards and hinting that more information is coming. [47][48] Esper immediately fired Spencer for going outside the chain of command. The LPO indicated the platoons snipers then began shooting warning shots so that the civilians would run away and (Gallagher) would not kill them," according to the report. [9] Gallagher goes by the nickname "Blade". Gallaghers case became a cause clbre in conservative circles, with President Trump championing his innocence. As usual, Fox News figures prominently. This was a prosecution witness, not a so, on cross-examination, that's when the defense brought this up.
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