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Associated Press Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher leaves a military court on Naval Base San Diego last summer.
Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who has been protected and lauded by President Trump, was denigrated by members of his Navy SEAL team in interviews with investigators and private group text conversations, according to records obtained by the New York Times.
Members of the SEAL group who served with Gallagher in Iraq in 2017 called him “evil” and “toxic.” They broke down frequently during their testimony, the report said. In their group texts, the SEALs struggled with an unwritten code of silence in the tight-knit special operations force.
Three SEALS told investigators Gallagher stabbed and killed a unarmed teenage captive in May 2017.
‘The guy is freaking evil.’
In a high-profile war-crimes case, Gallagher was acquitted of murder charges but convicted of a lesser offense of posing with the teen fighter’s corpse.
In November, Trump intervened in the case, reversing a planned demotion of Gallagher, and then allowed him to retain his SEAL status. Gallagher retired with fill honors.
Gallagher met with Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida shortly before Christmas.
Gallagher’s lawyer said the video interviews were full of inconsistencies, according to the Times.
The controversy led to the firing of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer.
Read: Navy secretary fired amid controversy over SEAL’s disciplinary case
