The legal team of Special Warfare Chief Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL recently accused of war crimes, is confident that their client will have his reduction in rank reversed after the chief of Naval Operations decided to take the case over on Saturday.
The situation is another highly unusual step in a case that has been full of bizarre twists and turns. When asked how many cases a CNO had taken over before, Timothy Parlatore, the defense’s lead attorney, said, “Zero.”
“Nobody’s ever heard of the CNO taking over a case.”
Gallagher, 40, was found not guilty in July of all charges, except unlawfully taking a picture with the corpse of an ISIS fighter he was accused of killing. That conviction carried with it a sentence that would ultimately reduce him in rank to E-1, the lowest enlisted rank in the Navy. But first, it has to be confirmed by what is known as the “convening authority.”
“Ultimately, they have to hear and decide if the sentence is to be approved,” Parlatore told the Washington Examiner.
Adm. John Richardson, the current CNO, took over as convening authority on Saturday, replacing Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar. It could be good news for the defense team, which has sought to get Gallagher’s reduction in rank reversed.
Two days prior, Richardson took over convening authority in the related case of Navy Lt. Jacob Portier, who had been accused of helping Gallagher cover up his alleged crimes. Richardson ultimately decided to dismiss all charges against him.
Bolivar sent a letter to Parlatore on Friday denying his request to defer the sentence against his client. The letter seemed to suggest Bolivar had already made her decision, suggesting Gallagher had engaged in witness intimidation and interfered in the administration of justice. Richardson took over the next day.
Parlatore said he felt confident the decision would go Gallagher’s way, but noted that in this case, nothing is certain.
“I would like to think that, as a leader, he saw it as the right thing to do,” Parlatore said.
Violations like Gallagher’s are usually handled through what is known as nonjudicial punishment, a form of internal punishment that avoids the military’s legal system. Should the sentence be carried out in full, he would be a few months short of 20 years served in the Navy and therefore ineligible for full retirement benefits.
Gallagher’s case captured national headlines, and the attention of President Trump, after he was accused by fellow SEALs of engaging in egregious war crimes that included stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and shooting indiscriminately at civilians.
The case took a strange turn when it was discovered that the Navy prosecution team had embedded email tracking software in their correspondence with the defense, leading to the dismissal of lead prosecutor Cmdr. Chris Czaplak.
Then, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott admitted he, not Gallagher, was ultimately responsible for the fighter’s death. The admission is largely believed to have been the key turning point in the jury’s verdict.
Despite losing the case, the Navy prosecutors involved were awarded Navy achievement medals, a decision that was ultimately reversed by Trump himself.
The defense expects Richardson to make his decision soon.
