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Gallagher Case: Navy SEAL Medic Testifies He, Not Gallagher, Killed Captured ISIS Fighter

Sean Gallagher

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Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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A Navy SEAL combat medic testified Thursday that he, not Eddie Gallagher, killed a captured ISIS prisoner while deployed in Iraq in 2017, upending an already-fraught prosecution effort against Gallagher.

SEAL Team 7 member Corey Scott had testified Wednesday that Gallagher had stabbed and killed the captured fighter, but admitted under cross examination that he then covered the prisoner’s breathing tube until he asphyxiated. The defense attorney then asked Scott directly whether Gallagher had killed the fighter, to which Scott responded “No,” Fox News reported. The news comes after several other members of the SEAL team testified that Gallagher’s stabbing had killed the prisoner. Gallagher stands charged with several war crimes: the alleged premeditated murder of the ISIS prisoner, as well as the shooting of unarmed civilians. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: The Inside Story Of The Decorated Navy Seal On Trial For Alleged War Crimes)

The prosecution has run into several roadblocks in the case. The trial was delayed for an investigation into the lead prosecutor for allegedly using malware to track emails. The defense accused him of attaching tracking software to emails sent by a Navy Times journalist in order to catch people leaking information to the press. A week later in early June, the prosecutor was thrown out.

President Donald Trump floated the idea of pardoning Gallagher around Memorial Day. He reportedly requested expedited pardon documents for Gallagher in May, though he never took action.

“In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly!” Trump wrote on Twitter at the time.

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