Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes, plans to work on behalf of other accused service members after having his rank restored by President Trump, according to his lawyer.
Trump’s announcement brings an end to what lawyer Tim Parlatore called a “surreal” experience for Gallagher. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence broke the news to the veteran SEAL on Friday, just after he had landed on a flight home to California.
“A year ago, this time, Eddie was in jail surrounded by sex offenders, facing potential life imprisonment without parole for a crime he didn’t commit. A year later, he’s getting a call from the president of the United States and the vice president,” Parlatore told the Washington Examiner. “It’s an absolutely surreal experience.”
Gallagher, 40, was accused of several war crimes while on deployment to Iraq in 2017, including murdering an injured ISIS fighter. His case gained national attention after it was reported that Trump was considering him for a pardon. The president ultimately opted to let the trial run its course but was instrumental in moving Gallagher out of confinement beforehand.
The jury found Gallagher not guilty of all charges, except taking a picture with the corpse of the fighter he was accused of murdering. That conviction initially led to a reduction in rank for Gallagher. Trump’s intervention means Gallagher will be able to retire at his full rank of chief petty officer. Parlatore hopes his client will be able to complete the retirement process by the end of the month.
Gallagher’s supporters criticized the Navy for what they felt were unfair practices since his arrest last year. The prosecution team was found to have embedded email tracking software in their correspondence with the defense, which led the judge overseeing the case to remove the Navy’s lead prosecutor, Cmdr. Chris Czaplak.
As Gallagher moves on from his Navy career, he plans to fight for other service members who are in a similar situation to his own.
“He intends to continue this on behalf of other service members with fundraising, with education, awareness, advocacy, and hopefully congressional action to reform the system and provide our service members, who put their life on the line to protect us, with the protection they need,” Parlatore said.
In addition to restoring Gallagher’s rank, Trump issued full pardons for former Army Lt. Clint Lorance, who was serving a 19-year sentence for murdering two civilians, and Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who was scheduled to go to trial for murdering a suspected Taliban bomb-maker next month.
