A military jury in Norfolk, Va. acquitted the third and final Navy SEAL court martialed in connection with the alleged assault of an Iraqi suspected in the 2004 murders of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah.
McCabe, a special operations petty officer second class, called the proceedings “troubling at times,” adding “having your career on the line is not an easy thing to handle.”
Two other SEALS, Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe, were found not guilty in the incident in separate trials in Baghdad. The defense’s argument centered on testimony from an oral surgeon who said Ahmed Hashim Abed’s injury could have been self-inflicted. Al Qaeda operatives are known to be trained to claim abuse by American captors.
The prosecution battled questions about the credibility of its key witness, who did not initially report an incident, but later said he saw McCabe punch Abed. The prosecution also had a line of questioning backfire when its witness corroborated the defense’s argument.
Support Our SEALS held rallies across the nation in support of McCabe on the day of his trial.
Video of McCabe talking with Fox & Friends this morning is here.
