- Dec. 27, 2019Updated 5:47 a.m. ET
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Good morning.
We’re covering newly revealed testimony in the war-crimes case involving a Navy SEAL leader
The SEALs who turned in Edward Gallagher
In tearful, anguished testimony to Navy investigators, members of Alpha platoon, SEAL Team 7, described their leader, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, as “toxic” and “freaking evil.”
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Video recordings of the interviews, which were obtained by The Times, were used in the prosecution of Chief Gallagher on war crimes charges including murder. He was acquitted by a military jury in July of all but a single relatively minor charge, and was later cleared of all punishment by President Trump.
The interviews broke an unwritten code of silence among members of one of the nation’s most elite commando forces. In them, three SEAL members said they had seen Chief Gallagher shoot civilians in Iraq and fatally stab a wounded captive.
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The details: Seven members of the 22-person platoon testified at Chief Gallagher’s trial that they had seen him commit war crimes. Two said they hadn’t seen any evidence of crimes, and others did not cooperate. Crucially, one SEAL member who had accused the chief during the investigation later changed his story on the witness stand.
Response: Chief Gallagher has insisted that the charges against him were concocted by team members who couldn’t meet his high standards. His lawyer said the interviews with the SEALs contained inconsistencies and falsehoods that created “a clear road map to the acquittal.”
Watch: The videos are featured in the latest episode of “The Weekly,” The Times’s TV show. It’s available to stream now on Hulu and will air on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX.
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