NYT obtains shocking testimony against SEAL Trump pardoned: 'The guy is freaking evil'
Donald Trump hosted convicted (and subsequently pardoned) war criminal and former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher at Mar-a-Lago recently, because he’s Trump, and war crimes are kind of his jam.
The newspaper obtained video recordings and group texts from SEALs who had testified against Gallagher in his trial, and they’re startling to say the least.
A few choice excerpts:
They offer the first opportunity outside the courtroom to hear directly from the men of Alpha platoon, SEAL Team 7, whose blistering testimony about their platoon chief was dismissed by President Trump when he upended the military code of justice to protect Chief Gallagher from the punishment.
“The guy is freaking evil,” Special Operator Miller told investigators. “The guy was toxic,” Special Operator First Class Joshua Vriens, a sniper, said in a separate interview. “You could tell he was perfectly O.K. with killing anybody that was moving,” Special Operator First Class Corey Scott, a medic in the platoon, told the investigators.
The Times also suggests coming forward was not an easy decision for the SEALs, who were forced to relive “wrenching events” and “grisly scenes” while violating an unwritten code of silence among SEALs.
Video from a SEAL’s helmet camera, included in the trove of materials, shows the barely conscious captive — a teenage Islamic State fighter so thin that his watch slid easily up and down his arm — being brought in to the platoon one day in May 2017. Then the helmet camera is shut off.
In the video interviews with investigators, three SEALs said they saw Chief Gallagher go on to stab the sedated captive for no reason, and then hold an impromptu re-enlistment ceremony over the body, as if it were a trophy.
“I was listening to it, and I was just thinking, like, this is the most disgraceful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Special Operator Miller, who has since been promoted to chief, told investigators.
Trump’s pardon was controversial among those in the military dedicated to clear rules of discipline, and it led to the ouster of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer. In a letter to Trump, Spencer wrote, “Unfortunately it has become apparent that in this respect, I no longer share the same understanding with the Commander in Chief who appointed me, in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline. I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag and my faith to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
There’s a lot more at the link. Gird your loins if you choose to dive in.
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