- "The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher's Trident Pin," Trump tweeted. "This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!"
- According to The New York Times, the decision to take Gallagher's Trident was already cleared with the White House by Tuesday.
- Trump has been involved in three war crimes cases, granting clemency to three warfighters accused or convicted of murder and other war crimes.
- Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.
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Trump is taking extra steps to protect alleged war criminal Eddie Gallagher after he already pardoned him
President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday that he would not allow the Navy to strip Chief Eddie Gallagher of his Trident, the insignia that marks him as a Navy SEAL.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a tour of Apple's Mac Pro manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas, U.S., November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo
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In the latest development in a dramatic war crimes case , President Donald Trump is attempting to prevent the Navy from stripping Chief Eddie Gallagher of his Trident, the uniform insignia that indicates his membership in the elite SEAL community.
"The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher's Trident Pin," Trump tweeted on Thursday. "This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!"
Trump reinstated Gallagher's rank last week, after he was demoted to Petty Officer 1st Class for taking a photo with a deceased ISIS fighter, a war crime. Gallagher was originally accused of murdering the captive ISIS fighter, as well as shooting at civilians during a tour in Iraq. He was acquitted on those charges.
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In November, Trump moved to grant Gallagher clemency, reinstating his rank and pay and paving the way for his retirement. But the Navy still moved to take Gallagher's Trident and boot him from the SEALs, a decision that had been approved by the chain of command up to the White House by Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
The Navy reportedly tried to strip Gallagher's Trident in early November, before Trump granted him clemency. It did not follow through on the punitive measure at the time, and Gallagher's attorney Tim Parlatore issued a scathing letter to Naval Special Warfare Command chief Rear Adm. Collin Green.
Parlatore again hit back against Green on Fox News on Thursday.
"Monday morning the admiral comes in and says I disagree with the president, I'm going to take his Trident," Parlatore said.
"What he's doing here is really just an effort to publicly humiliate Chief Gallagher and stick it right in the president's eye."
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Trump's involvement in Gallagher's court-martial case was another spectacle in a case marked by shocking twists and turns, including the lead prosecutor being booted from the case for spying on the defense team's email and a teammate of Gallagher's confessing to the murder of the teenage ISIS fighter .
Trump also pardoned an Army lieutenant convicted of ordering his platoon to murder unarmed Afghans, and dismissed charges against a Green Beret accused of murdering an unarmed man in Afghanistan.
See Also:
- Trump's Syria retreat is giving ISIS 'time and space' to strike the West, blistering Pentagon report says
- We went inside Secret Service boot camp where recruits get top secret training for their 'zero-fail mission'
- The US Navy says it's becoming 'nearly impossible' to maintain its ships with Congress holding more than $20 billion hostage
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SEE ALSO: Trump officials are quietly negotiating with the Taliban which is now ranked the world's deadliest terror group
SEE ALSO: Trump's Syria retreat is giving ISIS 'time and space' to strike the West, blistering Pentagon report says
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