Days after pardoning a US Navy SEAL convicted of posing for a photo with the corpse of an ISIS fighter, President Trump on Thursday said he would not allow the chief petty officer to be stripped of his Trident Special Warfare pin.
“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!” the president said in a tweet.
Gallagher, 40, was acquitted of murder in a war crimes trial but convicted of posing for pictures with the body of the Iraqi detainee.
In granting clemency on Friday, Trump also reversed a demotion for Gallagher, who now faces proceedings to expel him from the elite commando force.
Gallagher on Wednesday received formal notice that a “Trident review board” has been convened to weigh his fitness to remain in the SEALs, according to Capt. Tamara Lawrence, spokeswoman for the US Naval Special Warfare Command.
A hearing before the five-member panel weighing whether to take away the pin designating him a SEAL — effectively ousting him from the unit — was set for Dec. 2 before the president intervened with his tweet.
Gallagher’s attorney has alleged that Navy officials were angry about Trump’s decision to restore the SEAL’s rank and planned to retaliate.
“What I’m hearing is that the rear admiral said very disparaging comments about the president and stated his disagreement with the president’s actions and said therefore I want to move forward in removing his Trident,” civilian lawyer Timothy Parlatore said Wednesday, according to the Washington Times.
Parlatore confirmed that his client was served with papers in San Diego, where he is based, informing him of the upcoming review, convened by Naval Special Warfare commander Rear Adm. Collin Green, Reuters reported.
He contested the move in a complaint filed earlier this week with the US Defense Department Inspector General’s Office.
Gallagher’s notice of a Trident review board cited the verdict rendered in his July court-martial as evidence calling into question his suitability to continue serving in naval special warfare, the Navy said.