WASHINGTON ¨C Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, whose rank was recently restored by President Donald Trump in a controversial move, could be removed from the U.S. Navy SEALs, officials said Tuesday.
Gallagher, a SEAL team platoon leader, was accused of committing war crimes while deployed in Iraq in 2017.
In July, a military jury acquitted him of murdering a captured Islamic State fighter by stabbing the wounded prisoner in the neck, but it convicted him of illegally posing with the detainee¡¯s corpse. That led to his rank being reduced.
Last week, Trump restored Gallagher¡¯s rank and pardoned two Army officers accused of war crimes in Afghanistan. Critics said Trump¡¯s moves undermined military justice and sent a message that battlefield atrocities would be tolerated.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Gallagher and three other SEALs are likely to be notified Wednesday that they must appear before a board that will decide whether they should be stripped of their SEAL status.
Officials said that process could take weeks, but that the decision to review Gallagher¡¯s status had the support of senior Navy leaders.
If Gallagher is removed from the SEALs, he would either have to retire or find a different position in the Navy.
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