This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
On July 2, 2019, a military jury delivered a verdict in the war crimes trial of Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a decorated eight-tour veteran of SEAL Team 7.
Chief Gallagher, 40, was found not guilty of first-degree murder of a captive Islamic State fighter and attempted murder of civilians in Iraq in 2017. However, he was convicted of a single charge of posing with the dead body of the ISIS captive.
The verdict came after a highly publicized trial that drew attention from some Republicans in Congress and members of the conservative media. President Trump had even considered pardoning Chief Gallagher, but ultimately did not intervene.
As a result of the conviction, Chief Gallagher will face a maximum sentence of four months in prison. However, he has already spent more time in pre-trial confinement, so he will be released on July 2, 2019.
Chief Gallagher's downfall began when his own platoon turned him in last spring. Several fellow SEALs reported that their leader had shot civilians and killed a captive ISIS fighter with a custom hunting knife during the 2017 deployment in Iraq.
