eddie gallagher accusers

We do our best but cant control the outcome. Now, of course, there was some conflicting testimony. Gallagher was charged with murdering 17-year-old Khaled Jamal Abdullah in 2018, along with other charges. Not all the SEALs statements are consistent about what they witnessed or even when the alleged incidents occurred. That is best sailor, in all 6 teams on the West Coast: NSWU-1, NSWU-3, SDVT-1. Whats coming is the truth, Parlatore told the newspaper. Gallagher, 40, was acquitted of murder and nearly all related charges in a court martial trial last year. Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. [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. 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. 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. [51] Gallagher's case was scheduled for a hearing by the Navy SEAL review board on December 2, 2019. "[6][5] Gallagher's lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse, alleged the accusations were without foundation and came from a small number of disgruntled SEALs who could not meet Gallagher's leadership demands. [5] Some of these charges, such as flying a drone over a corpse, were dismissed during preliminary hearings. They could have taken my Trident at any time they wanted, now they are trying to take it after the President restored my rank and after we just filed IG exposing all the corruption that has been going on during my case. [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. And they certainly dont murder unarmed prisoners or terrorize civilian populations. Retired SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher sues Navy [36] That charge carried a maximum prison sentence of four months. No one. The accusations came from SEALs in Gallagher's own platoon, who said he was also known for taking shots at civilians from his sniper's nest, killing at least two. As more witnesses began reciting their allegations against the chief, prosecutors contend that Gallagher circulated their identities to others in the SEAL community and encouraged them to disclose the names and blacklist them.. At one point, Gallagher told the AOIC that Alpha Platoon needed to find Islamic State fighters and get in one good TIC (Troops in Contact, the direct and violent engagement with an enemy), one where you need to focus on your field of fire or else you could take (a bullet) to the side of the head, according to the letter provided to Navy Times. Because of the immunity agreement Scott could not be prosecuted for testifying that he killed the prisoner. One of them said: "I have got a cool story for you when I get back. They appear to have cast doubt on whether Gallagher actually killed anyone during the entire deployment, lawfully or unlawfully. He told NCIS that he watched Gallagher and the other SO1 for a few minutes but then returned to his duties as the LPO. [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. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. [15] People who viewed the original email or a forward of this email would likely load the image through their mail-reading program (electronic mail, or e-mail client), which would record where it came from; this allows for imperfect monitoring of who has seen an email, without installing any software. One of the SEALs served as a sniper in Iraq and left the Navy when he returned to California. It will mark a sea change in the sea services clandestine and close-knit cadre of SEALs, a secretive and elite military force that rarely testifies against each other, especially in war crimes probes attracting an international audience. And a fellow sniper intends to tell the panel that Gallagher claimed, he averaged three kills a day over 80 days, according to legal filings obtained by Navy Times. According to Gallagher, Vokey performed no useful services and was bilking him. That said, facts are facts. In fact, I talked to the ZBT group chat before writing this blog. The other SEAL sniper whos now a civilian told investigators that he estimated the girl to be a 12-year-old, according to another document provided to Navy Times. Raiders. 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. Coming out during the day can draw out the enemy, who can be overwhelmed with firepower, said Parlatore, a former Navy surface warfare officer. He added that he was only about a foot away from the prisoner when Gallagher pulled out his knife and stabbed the boy two or three times in the neck. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images). That was basically good time. Or check out the latest stories on our homepage. On April 10, 2018, his superiors had referred the case to federal agents as a LOAC a Law of Armed Conflict Violation, or war crime. [44] After Richardson's retirement in August 2019, his replacement Admiral Michael M. Gilday took ownership of the request. Former SEAL Eddie Gallagher attacks his accusers in We were Navy SEALs fighting ISIS in a battle that has been called the most intense urban conflict since World War II. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. [9], During his eighth deployment in 2017, Gallagher's aggressiveness seemed to be amplified during the Battle for Mosul. (Leo Shane III/Staff). This is from a large project that will surely shock the military world. 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. And on Fox News this morning, flanked by his wife and lawyer, he reiterated his view that it was a group of disgruntled fellow SEALs who wanted to frame him. It was the judge advocate generals office at Group 1s California HQ that summoned Warpinskis agency, records reveal. [35] On July 2, 2019, they acquitted him on six of the seven original charges but found him guilty of the seventh charge of "wrongfully posing for an unofficial picture with a human casualty". Was always a jerk. [9] Gallagher goes by the nickname "Blade". This account was also contrary to the statements of at least seven other SEALs[33] as well as Scott's previous statements. The most serious allegation against Gallagher, 39, is a premeditated murder charge in connection with the stabbing death of an unarmed and seriously wounded Islamic State fighter near the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2017. I have directed the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer & Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson to immediately withdraw and rescind the awards", "Lawyer for Eddie Gallagher Says Acquitted Navy SEAL Owes Him Up to $1 Million", "Navy Reduces Punishment for SEAL in War Crimes Case", "Report: Trump makes SEAL Gallagher a chief again", "Navy secretary strongly considering resigning over Trump's meddling in SEAL case", "Trump ordered Gallagher be allowed to retire as Navy SEAL, defense secretary says", "Esper says Trump ordered him to stop SEAL review board", "Eddie Gallagher controversy: Esper fires Navy secretary, SEAL will keep Trident pin, Pentagon says", "Esper says Trump ordered him to allow Gallagher to keep his Trident pin and remain a SEAL", "Does Trump's Navy SEAL pardon undermine military justice? One dude I was good friends with was so paranoid that he hadn't taken a single picture with his son. 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. Reddit He wants to help NCIS agents get Eddie, said Parlatore. By that time, government records indicate that Alpha Platoon already was embroiled in another probe into war crimes allegations. [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. Eddie Gallagher [5][6] He was trained as a medic, a sniper, and an explosives expert. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. Joseph Warpinski is the lead NCIS special agent assigned to the Gallagher probe. Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALs Who Turned Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. 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. 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. Several of them said that they saw him stab this alleged captive ISIS prisoner. There were differences of opinion about how they should conduct operations. [5], Gallagher was also charged with nearly a dozen lesser offenses. Iraqi security forces distribute food to refugees from Badush outside of a patrol base near Al Tarab, Iraq during the offensive to liberate West Mosul from ISIS, on March 10, 2017. On May 28, a panel of Gallaghers peers will start determining whats true about the allegations. A proffer request from one of the two assistant officers in charge of the platoon indicates hes prepared to tell prosecutors that Gallagher called in false target coordinates to engage a mosque," tried to push his platoon into pointless and potentially catastrophic firefights with insurgents and became so mentally unstable that he shouldve been relieved from duty, but wasnt. He was the first non-Marine to graduate from the United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper School that he attended. Gallagher was accused of several war crimes by some of his platoon subordinates, including that he shot civilians and stabbed a wounded ISIS fighter in the neck, killing him, while in Iraq in 2017. Eddie Gallagher [5] He allegedly fired his rifle far more frequently than other snipers;[5] according to testimony, the other snipers in the platoon did not consider him a good sniper, and he took "random shots" into buildings. Gallagher and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Jake Portier, then posed for photographs of them standing over the body with some other nearby SEALs. But, on this last charge, the least serious of the seven charges, the jury decided to give him the maximum sentence, which is this four months in jail, and they reduced him in rank from a chief petty officer to a petty officer 1st class. Chief Gallagher was awarded Sailor of the Year for Naval Special Warfare Group One. Gallagher repeatedly sent us to positions where SEALs and our Iraqi partner forces were wounded or killed by small arms and rockets. [55], In March 2020, David Martin of CBS News interviewed Gallagher, his wife, and his attorney on the CBS program 60 Minutes.[56]. Over the years here and Barstool and my time in the Marine Corps, I got to know several SEALs and other members of "special units." Not a single one of us could have imagined that we would have to report a friend and mentor for war crimes. Thank you. He was interviewed in 2020 by former Navy SEAL and current K9 trainer Mike Ritland on YouTube. By early 2019, however, the prosecution had settled on a narrative about what began going wrong in Iraq two years earlier, according to legal filings and internal correspondence provided to Navy Times. After two weeks of testimony, Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty of murdering a suspected ISIS prisoner in Iraq. 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. He will serve no further jail time. If the prosecution is right, the chief likely will spend the rest of his life behind bars. In his statements to NCIS, the LPO said he later returned to the area, rounded a parked Humvee and spotted Gallagher kneeling on the right side of the wounded teen. Members of Navy SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon in Mosul, Iraq (Photo courtesy of the Joshua Vriens). I have got my knife skills on." 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Both defense attorneys and prosecutors agree that Gallaghers relationship with his former platoon was growing increasingly acrimonious. Former Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher posted the 3-minute video on both his Facebook and Instagram channels Monday. Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALs Who Turned SEALs Divided: Documentary Hunts for the Gallagher's accusers painted him as a bloodthirsty warrior who was out of control in Iraq in 2017. If Gallaghers defense team is right, hell walk out of Naval Base San Diego a free man. The SO1 sniper told NCIS that one of the SEAL SO1s who assisted Gallagher with the wounded detainee said the chief had begun threatening to kill mother(expletives) who accused him of wrongdoing. Initially, it seemed that no one in the SO1s tower thought Gallagher had shot the girl. Clip from Apple TVs documentary The Line featuring Eddie Gallagher, former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, and Navy SEAL Dylan Dille. New York Times reporter Dave Philipps joins Deadline White House panel to discuss the Navy SEALs' testimony against Eddie Gallagher. He turned to the jury of all members of the military, Marines and a couple and one SEAL, as a matter of fact, and said, who among us had not had their commander threatened to kill them at one point or another? The guy is freaking evil, Miller told the investigators. [2], On July 2, 2019, Gallagher was convicted of posing for a photograph with the corpse of an ISIS fighter, but was acquitted of all other charges after Special Operator Corey Scott, a member of Gallaghers team granted immunity as a witness against Gallagher, testified that he had killed the prisoner. Chief Gallagher was awarded Sailor of the Year for Naval Special Warfare Group One. It played into their overall narrative that this was a sloppy investigation, they didn't ask the right questions to the right people at the right time. You've seen the picture featuring operators with black bars over their eyes and faces. These werent SEAL tactics. What seems clear is that the SO1 already had grown to fear his chief. The SO1 sniper said that the northern tower was occupied by Gallagher and two second class petty officers from SEAL Team 7. He also told NCIS that Gallagher had shot at but missed another young girl in a previous incident. [39][36] President Trump congratulated Gallagher on his acquittal over Twitter. The decorated Navy SEAL had been accused of stabbing the wounded teenage captive, as well as attempted murder of Iraqi civilians and obstruction of justice. For us, this was an easy fight to get behind. Task and Purpose has written about it. Gallagher repeatedly sent us to positions where SEALs and our Iraqi partner forces were wounded or killed by small arms and rockets. Two high-ranking Iraqi members of the Ministry of the Interiors forces, Maj. Gen. Abbas al-Jubouri and Col. Omar Issa Khadim, told NCIS that the detainee was barely alive when they brought him to the SEALs compound and passed away from gunshot wounds, not a stabbing. "[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. Eddie Gallagher Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. But he said Portier wanted to hold off reporting the incident until he determined Iraqi security forces hadnt shot the girl. They want to do what SEALs do, things like raids where they can rehearse the operation to perfection. [49] The next day (Nov. 25) Esper said that Trump had ordered him to allow Gallagher to keep his Trident Pin, so that Gallagher remained a SEAL until his retirement at the end of November 2019. On the stand, his attorney said called them entitled young SEALs. Gallaghers case became a cause clbre in conservative circles, with President Trump championing his innocence. [58], In 2021, Gallagher said on the podcast The Line, although he did not stab the ISIS fighter, "[the ISIS fighter] was killed by us, and that nobody at that time, had a problem with it", and the group performed medical procedures on the prisoner which killed him (including inserting an emergency airway into the ISIS fighter's throat, "just for practice"). [40] Four weeks later, President Trump announced over Twitter he had directed the Secretary of the Navy to revoke Navy Achievement Medals given to members of the prosecution team that oversaw Gallagher's case. Eddie Gallagher and the changing story