Trump orders the Navy to take away awards ‘ridiculously given’ to prosecutors who failed to convict a Navy SEAL of murder

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• President Donald Trump has ordered Navy leaders to take away the awards that were given to Navy prosecutors who failed to convict Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher of murder in a high-profile war crimes trial.
• The prosecution, but not the defense, was given Navy Achievement Medals for their "superb results," despite losing the case after suffering setback after setback before and during the trial.
• Gallagher’s defense attorney Timothy Parlatore told INSIDER that "every prosecutor on that team utterly failed." One of Trump’s personal attorneys defended Gallagher at the court-martial.
• Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump has ordered Navy leaders to strip the awards that were "ridiculously given" to Navy prosecutors who tried and failed to convict Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward "Eddie" Gallagher of murder in a high-profile war crimes trial that ended earlier this month.

"The Prosecutors who lost the case against SEAL Eddie Gallagher (who I released from solitary confinement so he could fight his case properly), were ridiculously given a Navy Achievement Medal," the president tweeted Wednesday. "I have directed the Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer & Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson to immediately withdraw and rescind the awards."

The president’s tweets follow reports revealing that the prosecution received Navy Achievement Medals and were commended for achieving "superb results."

Read more: The Navy handed out medals to the prosecutors who ‘failed’ miserably in the war crimes trial of a Navy SEAL

In the lead up to the trial, the lead prosecutor Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak was removed from the case after he and his team allegedly spied on the defense, which included one of the president’s personal attorneys, as well as a member of the media.

Read more: The US Navy allegedly spied on a member of Trump’s legal team while hunting for leaks in a Navy SEAL’s war crimes trial

During the trial, the prosecution suffered another setback when prosecution witness Special Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, who testified with immunity, unexpectedly confessed to murdering the prisoner of war that Gallagher was accused of killing, forcing the prosecution to impugn their own witness.

Read more: Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher is on trial for allegedly murdering a prisoner of war. Another SEAL just confessed to the killing in bombshell testimony

At the end of the trial, Gallagher was cleared of all charges, except for unlawfully taking a photo with the dead body of an enemy combatant, a crime for which he will not serve any additional prison time.

"Every prosecutor on that team utterly failed," Gallagher’s civilian defense attorney Timothy Parlatore told INSIDER Tuesday. He said that the two military defense attorneys — Maj. Nelson Candelario and Lt. Gregory Gianoni — who defended Gallagher, did not receive awards for their actions during the court martial.

Throughout the entire process, Trump demonstrated support for Gallagher, a decorated US warfighter who was charged with stabbing a prisoner of war to death and shooting civilians in Iraq. He was also charged with obstruction of justice.

Read more: Trump congratulates Navy SEAL acquitted of murder but found guilty of posing for photos with a dead prisoner

Tweeting Wednesday, Trump said, "I am very happy for Eddie Gallagher and his family!"

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See Also:

• Lawmaker says the US Navy’s failings on its new $13 billion supercarrier ‘ought to be criminal’
• The Navy handed out medals to the prosecutors who ‘failed’ miserably in the war crimes trial of a Navy SEAL
• A Navy SEAL platoon deployed in Iraq is being kicked out and sent home early due to reported alcohol abuse

Source: Business Insider – rpickrell@businessinsider.com (Ryan Pickrell)