President Donald Trump’s Saturday morning announcement followed a Fox News segment on Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
Trump intervenes in case of Navy SEAL charged with murder
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a Navy SEAL who is accused of fatally stabbing an Islamic State detainee during a 2017 deployment to Iraq will be “moved to less restrictive confinement” ahead of his trial in May.
“In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal #EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court,” the president tweeted. “Process should move quickly!”
Trump’s message follows a request by 40 members of Congress to the Navy on Tuesday to “analyze whether a less severe form of restraint would be appropriate” for Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher instead of “pre-trial confinement” as his court date approaches.
“We ask that you weight this decision given the terrible message Chief Gallagher’s confinement sends to our warfighters, that they can be confined behind bars away from their family, legal defense, and community for nine months before their day in court,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Navy Region Southwest commander Rear Adm. Yancy B. Lindsey. Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a former Navy SEAL officer, and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a Marine Corps veteran, were among the message’s signatories.
“To confine any service member for that duration of time, regardless of the authority to do so, sends a chilling message to those who fight for our freedoms,” the lawmakers added.
Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to a series of charges stemming from his 2017 deployment with the California-based SEAL Team 7. Apart from the accusation that he murdered a teenage ISIS fighter under his care, military prosecutors contend that he held his re-enlistment ceremony with the detainee’s corpse. Gallagher is also accused of shooting two civilians in Iraq and firing inadvertently into crowds.
He was arrested in September 2018 while receiving treatment as a wounded warrior at Camp Pendleton in California, and has since been held at San Diego’s Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) previewed the president’s intervention in Gallagher’s case on Friday, tweeting that he had spoken with Trump about the matter by phone and thanking him for “deciding to move Chief Ghallager [sic] to less restrictive confinement” while he awaits trial.
“Eddie Gallagher is a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, and served our nation on eight tours of duty under conditions most of us could not fathom,” Norman wrote online. “As I've said from the start, I believe Chief Gallagher will soon have a fair and impartial trial. But until proven otherwise, it's appropriate that he be treated as a decorated soldier who still has the presumption of innocence.”
Trump’s Saturday morning tweet came after a Fox News segment that aired at about 7:45 a.m., during which Gallagher’s brother thanked the president and various anchors from the network that have advocated on behalf of his family — including “Fox & Friends” hosts Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy. Trump tagged "Fox & Friends" in his tweet.
“I have to say, I have to thank you and Brian and Steve, and particularly Congressman Ralph Norman and especially President Trump for exercising common sense and human decency in allowing my brother to be relieved from a prison of convicted sex offenders so that he can actually meet with his lawyers, see his family, see sunlight and be treated like a human being ahead of his trial so that he can properly prepare to defend himself,” Sean Gallagher told Fox News host Pete Hegseth.
“At this point, we're pretty confident the White House is going to today make something happen,” he added.
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