Navy Reduces Punishment for SEAL in War Crimes Case

Edward Gallagher was demoted by a single rank, not all the way to the bottom, but his conviction on a minor count will stand, the Navy’s top admiral said.

By Dave Philipps
Oct. 29, 2019
Updated 6:58 p.m. ET

The Navy SEAL at the center of one of the highest-profile war crimes cases in years had his punishment drastically reduced Tuesday by the Navy’s top admiral, sparing the SEAL from the most serious consequence he still faced, a steep demotion that would have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement pay.

The unusual act comes in the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who a year ago was facing a court-martial and the prospect of life in prison without parole. Navy prosecutors had accused him of shooting civilians in Iraq, killing a captive enemy fighter with a hunting knife, and threatening to kill fellow SEALs if they reported him, among other charges. Chief Gallagher was acquitted by a military jury in July of all the charges except one minor count: bringing discredit on the armed forces, by posing for a photo with the corpse of the captive he was accused of killing.

Adm. Mike Gilday, the Chief of Naval Operations, did not erase the conviction or relieve Chief Gallagher of all punishment, as the defense had asked. Instead, he limited the sentence to a demotion by one rank, to special operator first class, as the jury had recommended. The Navy said in a statement that the admiral “thoroughly reviewed the record of trial, along with the clemency request submitted by the defense,” before issuing the decision.

The case was closely watched by President Trump, who intervened several times on the special operator’s behalf and congratulated him on Twitter when he was acquitted of nearly all charges, saying, “Glad I could help!”

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