Free Republic

​President Trump said Wednesday that he would order the Navy to rescind medals given to military lawyers who prosecuted a ​former ​Navy SEAL the president supported during his court martial on murder charges. “The Prosecutors who lost the case against SEAL Eddie Gallagher (who I released from solitary confinement so he could fight his case properly), were ridiculously given a Navy Achievement Medal,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I have directed the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer & Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson to immediately withdraw and rescind the awards​,” Trump continued.

Jury finds Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher not guilty of war crimes

The WhatsApp group would eventually lead to formal allegations that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher fatally stabbed a wounded Islamic State captive in his care and shot civilians in Iraq in 2017. Gallagher, 40, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A jury of mostly combat Marines will ultimately decide the fate of the 19-year-veteran and Bronze Star recipient charged with murder, attempted murder and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline for posing with the corpse for photographs. No matter the outcome, the court-martial at Naval Base San Diego has provided a rare view into the insular Navy SEAL...

The trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher resumed Friday with prosecutors expected to call two Navy SEAL snipers to testify on charges he shot at innocent civilians while he led a SEAL platoon deployment to Iraq in 2017. However, whether the prosecution can recover from a bombshell courtroom revelation on Thursday remains unclear. On Thursday, the prosecution’s star witness, medic Navy SEAL Special Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, shocked the courtroom by admitting that he was the one who killed a wounded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria fighter, not Gallagher, as he is accused of doing. According to NBC...

A medic testifying in the trial of Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher – who is accused of killing an injured ISIS prisoner of war in Iraq – has shockingly testified Thursday that he is the one who killed the militant, not Gallagher. The medic told a court at Naval Base San Diego that he killed the fighter by asphyxiation. He also testified that Gallagher stabbed the fighter, but did not kill him. Gallagher, 40, has pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder and aggravated assault charges stemming from the alleged killing of a wounded ISIS fighter and alleged instances of firing sniper...

A military judge on Friday refused to dismiss the murder case of a decorated Navy SEAL, but found the prosecution’s meddling in defense lawyer emails troubling enough to reduce the maximum penalty he faces. Capt. Aaron Rugh said an effort to track emails sent to lawyers for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher violated constitutional rights against illegal searches and the right to counsel by interfering with attorney-client privilege. “It hampered the defense’s opportunity to prepare for trial as they became necessarily enmeshed in discovery and litigation related to the operation, thereby harming the accused’s right to competent counsel,” Rugh said....

Navy judge in SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher’s case won’t dismiss charges, but took away life-without-parole sentencing optionSAN DIEGO — The war crimes charges against a San Diego-based Navy SEAL will stand, a Navy judge ruled Friday. Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward R. Gallagher is facing charges that he killed a wounded teenage ISIS fighter brought to the SEAL’s Mosul, Iraq compound for medical treatment in 2017. Gallagher also is accused of shooting at civilians, posing for photos with a corpse and holding his reenlistment ceremony next to the body, according to court documents and prosecutor statements. Gallagher has denied all...

A military judge on Monday took the rare step of removing a prosecutor accused of misconduct from the war crimes case of a decorated Navy SEAL. Capt. Aaron Rugh ordered Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak removed from the case of Operations Chief Edward Gallagher after defense lawyers accused the prosecution of spying on their emails, according to the ruling. ~snip~ Rugh has not yet ruled on whether to dismiss murder and attempted murder counts against Gallagher.

Full title: Citing prosecutor misconduct, defense urges judge to drop charges against Navy SEAL charged with murderDefense attorneys for a Navy SEAL charged with war crimes argued Friday that military prosecutors’ actions amounted to misconduct so egregious that all the charges against their client, Chief Special Operator Edward R. Gallagher, should be dismissed. The judge in the case, while agreeing prosecutors violated Gallagher’s rights, did not immediately rule on their motion. Gallagher is charged with killing a wounded ISIS fighter in Iraq in 2017 after providing medical care. Other charges he faces are related to fellow SEALs’ statements that he...

Full title: Lawyers defending accused SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher alleged prosecutors spied on them, and at least one reporter, via software attached to emails.A San Diego-based Navy SEAL charged with war crimes — including premeditated murder — was ordered released from pretrial restriction at Navy Base San Diego Thursday because the judge said prosecutors interfered with his defense counsel and caused delays in his trial. The delays are due to a Navy Criminal Investigative Service investigation into media leaks in the case. The judge said the release was a partial remedy. According to court testimony, Cmdr. Chris Czaplak, the Navy’s...

An attorney for Navy SEAL chief Edward "Eddie" Gallagher also represents the Trump Organization, CNN has learned, just days after reports surfaced indicating the President is considering pardoning Gallagher of charges that could constitute war crimes. Gallagher faces a slew of accusations connected to violations of military law while he was deployed to the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2017, including premeditated murder in the stabbing death of an injured person in Iraq. He has pleaded not guilty. Trump Organization lawyer Marc Mukasey started working on the case in recent months, according to sources familiar with the situation.

President Trump is preparing to pardon Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher and other members of armed forces accused of war crimes, according to a published report. In a sign he is considering making the pardons on or around Memorial Day, Trump asked the Justice Department to prepare the requisite paperwork, the New York Times reported Saturday. Gallagher, a special operations officer, is scheduled to go to trial for allegedly stabbing a wounded prisoner of war to death in Iraq and shooting unarmed civilians in Afghanistan. Trump recently ordered him transferred to a “less restrictive” prison. Republican lawmakers had called for Gallagher...

A fundraising event for Navy SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher, who is accused of several war crimes including murder, drew a sold out crowd at Twisted Taps in University Heights Friday night. “They f---ed with the wrong family and ... we’re going to fight this. We’re going to fight this every step of the way,” Sean Gallagher, Edward's little brother, said to the crowd, some with shirts reading "Free Eddie."

President Trump on Saturday announced that Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who is accused of war crimes in Iraq, will be moved to ‘less restrictive confinement’ -- apparently in response to a push by Republican lawmakers advocating for Gallagher. “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. Process should move quickly!” Trump tweeted. Gallagher is facing premeditated murder and aggravated assault charges stemming from the alleged killing of an injured ISIS prisoner and alleged instances of him intentionally firing sniper rounds at...

Hundreds of immigrants in the U.S. illegally were arrested this week in North Carolina after some local law agencies stopped cooperating with immigration enforcement, a federal official said Friday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regional director Sean Gallagher said the arrests resulted from what he termed “the dangerous policies of not cooperating with ICE,” The Charlotte Observer reported. […] ICE officers have detained 200 people in North Carolina this week. Another 25 were detained at an arms manufacturer in Sanford. Gallagher said more such arrests are likely when ICE is restricted from accessing county jails. …

A federal court is keeping documents justifying an FBI raid on a reportedly recognized whistleblower secret. Attorneys and whistleblower advocates say the court should disclose whether prosecutors told the judge that Dennis Cain was a whistleblower. A federal court refused to unseal government documents that permitted the FBI to raid the home of a reportedly recognized whistleblower who, according to his lawyer, delivered documents pertaining to the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to a presidentially appointed watchdog. The U.S. District Court of Maryland’s Chief Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner, a Clinton appointee, also sealed her justification for keeping the documents...

The Iowa Republican sent a separate letter to Horowitz on Nov. 30 seeking Cain’s documents and citing TheDCNF’s reporting. .... Grassley in his letter, which also cites TheDCNF’s reporting, asked Wray if “the FBI consider[s] Mr. Cain’s disclosures to be protected.” The whistleblower act protects federal employees who disclose classified documents to the proper authorities, which includes the IG. Grassley further asked Wray if the FBI was “aware at the time of the raid that Mr. Cain had made what appeared to be lawful disclosures to the Inspector General? If so, was the FBI aware that these disclosures were passed...

The FBI raided the home of a whistleblower who was in possession of documents regarding the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One, according to the whistleblower’s lawyer, Michael Socarras. The whistleblower, Dennis Nathan Cain, had turned the documents over to the Department of Justice’s inspector general and both the House and Senate Intelligence committees, according to the lawyer. The FBI rummaged through Cain’s home for six hours, even after the whistleblower handed over the documents, according to Socarras.

The talk show host Mike Gallagher is currently discussing how outraged he was when a woman corrected his "Merry Christmas" greeting to her, telling him she "would prefer a 'Happy Holidays' greeting". I also prefer a "Happy Holidays" greeting because his original greeting would not be appropriate to me. I called the show to tell the call screener this (I NEVER call in to radio shows!). I was very respectful and told the call screener that I didn't even need to go on the air, but just wanted to get my opinion across. She took my name. As soon as...

<p>A New Jersey man is suing NBC for $52 million claiming security guards dragged him away from a “Today” show audience pen on Rockefeller Plaza and beat him up — for wearing a t-shirt with Bill Clinton’s image.... with the word “rape.”</p>