Navy SEAL sentenced for posing with dead Iraq war casualty

Reporting from San Diego —  A Navy SEAL who was acquitted of killing a wounded Islamic State captive but convicted of posing with the corpse was sentenced by a military jury Wednesday to a reduction in rank and four months of confinement.

A judge, however, credited Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher with enough time already spent in custody to ensure he won’t be locked up.

Gallagher turned to his wife, shook his head and pretended to unpin his “anchors” — the insignia of a chief — and fling them across the courtroom. He then smiled and hugged her.

The sentencing came after Gallagher addressed the jury that had acquitted him Tuesday of murder, attempted murder and other counts stemming from an incident during a 2017 deployment to Iraq.

“I put a black eye on the two communities that I love — the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy — specifically the SEAL community,” he said.

He said he tried to lead by example but didn’t always succeed.

“I’ve made mistakes throughout my 20-year career — tactical, ethical, moral — I’m not perfect but I’ve always bounced back from my mistakes. I’m ready to bounce back from this,” he said.

RELATED: Navy SEAL found not guilty of murder in Iraq prisoner case »

The jury reduced Gallagher’s rank by one grade to petty officer 1st class and ordered his monthly pay cut by $2,697 for four months.

The judge then modified the sentence, capping the pay cut at two months and giving Gallagher 60 days’ credit for being held in overly harsh conditions before being tried and being deprived of treatment for a traumatic brain injury.

Gallagher also got credit for 201 days of pretrial confinement.

A Navy prosecutor had asked only for a reduction in rank, not confinement. The defense recommended no punishment.

Gallagher told the jury he was fully responsible for his actions on the day he took photos with the body of the 17-year-old militant.

One image shows him clutching the hair of the corpse with one hand and holding a knife in another.

The photos were taken after Gallagher and other SEALs provided medical treatment for the captive who was wounded in an air strike in 2017 and handed over by Iraqi forces.

The prosecutor, Lt. Brian John, said Gallagher was the platoon chief and should not have been the centerpiece of the photos in which nearly all the members posed with the body. John said Gallagher should have stopped the photos from being taken.

“For that reason, he no longer deserves to wear anchors,” the prosecutor said.

John said the photos had the potential to be used as propaganda by Islamic State and be harmful to U.S. forces overseas.

The verdict clearing Gallagher of the most serious charges was met with an outpouring of emotion.

President Trump, who intervened earlier this year to have Gallagher moved from the brig to less restrictive confinement, tweeted congratulations to the SEAL and his family.

“You have been through much together. Glad I could help!” the president wrote.

The outcome dealt a major blow to one of the Navy’s most high-profile war crimes cases and exposed a generational conflict within the ranks of the elite special operations forces.

Asked in an interview Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” what his message might be to future Navy SEALs, Gallagher said he would tell them that “loyalty is a trait that seems to be lost. ... You’re there to watch your brother’s back, and he’s there to watch your back.”

Speaking of his accusers, Gallagher said, “this small group of SEALs that decided to concoct this story in no way, shape or form represent the community that I love.”

Gallagher also thanked Fox News “for being behind us from Day 1,” and also thanked Trump along with Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).

Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, center, walks with his wife, Andrea Gallagher, and advisor Bernard Kerik as they leave a military court on Naval Base San Diego on Tuesday.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Defense lawyers said Gallagher was framed by junior disgruntled platoon members who fabricated the allegations to oust their chief. They said the lead investigator built the probe around their stories instead of seeking the truth.

They said there was no physical evidence to support the allegations because no corpse was ever recovered and examined by a pathologist.

The prosecution said Gallagher was incriminated by his own text messages and photos, including one of him holding up the dead militant by the hair and clutching a knife in his other hand.

“Got him with my hunting knife,” Gallagher wrote in a text with the photo.

The defense said it was just gallows humor and pointed out that almost all platoon members who testified against him also posed with the corpse.

The jury of five Marines and two sailors, including a SEAL, was comprised mostly of seasoned combat veterans who served in Iraq. Several lost friends in war.