Navy Secretary says review of SEAL should proceed despite Trump's opposition
- by Lorene Schwartz
- in People
- — Nov 25, 2019
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Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL previously facing a war crimes trial, serves under Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer and Rear Adm. Collin Green, but that didn't stop him from publicly trashing them on a Sunday appearance on Fox News.
"There is extreme concern over decision making being pulled from the Navy", one administration official told CNN Saturday in reaction to Trump's Thursday tweet that "the Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher's Trident Pin".
Gallagher said he plans to expose next week how the Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, was "meddling in my case and trying to get organizations not to support me".
Spencer delivered the denial from the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he is a keynote speaker: "Contrary to popular belief, I am still here".
Spencer said Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher should face a board of peers because "the process matters for good order and discipline", Reuters reported on Friday.
The US Navy chief said he did not consider Trump's tweet to be a formal order. The debate over Chief Gallagher comes as Mr. Trump, facing a hard re-election battle and an impeachment inquiry, has increasingly sought to highlight his role as commander in chief.
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In July, he was acquitted of charges related to those accusations, but was convicted of a lesser charge - posing with the slain fighter's body in a group picture with other SEALs. The Trident pin signifies membership of the elite SEAL force. "He's involved in every aspect of government and he can make decisions and give orders as appropriate", he said.
Gallagher was demoted from chief petty officer to a 1st class petty officer following his conviction, but Trump this month restored Gallagher's rank.
The New York Times reported earlier on Saturday that Spencer had threatened to quit if Trump subverted the process.
Earlier this week, a Reuters report revealed that US officials planned to further review Gallagher's SEAL rank even after Trump's decision. Gallagher said he wanted to be allowed to retire on November 30 "with all the honors that I've earned, get back to my family". Spencer has denied the claim.
Speaking with the host of Fox and Friends, Parlatore characterised the Navy's renewed scrutiny as an act of revenge against the president roughly an hour prior to Trump's tweet. -Canada defence issues, despite concerns given by some US officials. On Wednesday, Gallagher and three other SEALs also received notices requiring them to appear before an appraisal board, according to a follow-up report.
The firing was a dramatic turn in a long-running controversy involving Navy Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, whose case has been championed by President Donald Trump. It features an eagle on an anchor, clutching a flintlock pistol and a trident, and represents the grit of sailors who made it through some of the toughest training in the Navy, and are given some of the riskiest missions.
