Rep. Dan Crenshaw has weighed in on a potential pardon for Nave SEAL Ed Gallagher who, according to the New York Times, is being considered for a pardon by President Donald Trump:
Breaking News: President Trump is showing signs he will pardon several servicemen accused of war crimes. He asked for paperwork to be prepared by Memorial Day https://t.co/W2muoIhApN
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 18, 2019
Gallagher, who was accused of killing civilians by fellow SEALs from his platoon, is
It was seven members of SEAL Team 7’s Alpha Platoon who turned in Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher for killing innocent civilians.https://t.co/1a0nGUuOan https://t.co/BR521pWCs0
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 19, 2019
In April, a military judge ruled that prosecutors can use the information found on one of Gallagher’s cell phones at the court-martial. From the Navy Times:
The military judge overseeing the court-martial proceedings for accused SEAL war criminal Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward “Eddie” Gallagher has ruled that information gleaned from his seized cell phones can be used as evidence by the prosecution.
Capt. Aaron Rugh’s decision late Friday clears prosecutors to use a string of text messages and other data they believe will buttress their allegations that Gallagher, 39, stabbed to death a seriously wounded and unarmed Islamic State prisoner of war during a 2017 deployment to Iraq and later tried to cover up the killing and intimidate potential witnesses.
A spokesman for Navy Region Southwest, the convening authority in Gallagher’s court-martial trial at Naval Base San Diego, declined comment.
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Rep. Crenshaw, who is a retired Navy SEAL, told National Review that the president should hold off on his pardon decision until after the trial:
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a decorated retired Navy SEAL, tells @NRO: “These cases should be decided by the courts, where the entirety of the evidence can be viewed. Only after that should a pardon be considered.” https://t.co/0ZNt9RSCJc https://t.co/M4A8cANQNe
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) May 20, 2019
More here:
Dan Crenshaw: Navy SEAL Should Face War-Crimes Trial Before Trump Considers Pardon https://t.co/0ZNt9RSCJc
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) May 20, 2019
Crenshaw had earlier asked the Secretary of the Navy to review Gallagher’s pre-trial confinement:
I joined 17 of my colleagues in asking the Secretary of the Navy to review the conditions of Chief Petty Officer Edward “Eddie” Gallagher’s pretrial confinement.
Everyone deserves access to basic needs while awaiting trial.
Read more about our efforts: https://t.co/Ru05widpQM
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) March 21, 2019
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