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Eddie Gallagher. Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
Navy SEAL platoon members painted a dark picture of Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, their leader who was acquitted of war crimes and had a minor charge cleared by President Trump, in leaked investigatory interview videos and text messages obtained by the New York Times.
Why it matters: The interviews, given by members of the platoon members that served under Gallagher, break the SEALs' unwritten code of silence and describe their leader as violent, "evil" and "toxic" — in contrast with Trump's portrayal of him as a hero.
What they're saying:
- "The guy is freaking evil," Special Operator First Class Craig Miller told investigators.
- "The guy was toxic," said Special Operator First Class Joshua Vriens, a sniper.
- "You could tell he was perfectly okay with killing anybody that was moving," added Special Operator First Class Corey Scott, a medic in the platoon.
What happened: Three SEALs told Navy investigators that they saw Gallagher stab a sedated teenage ISIS fighter to death for no apparent reason, "and then hold an impromptu re-enlistment ceremony over the body, as if it were a trophy," per the Times.
- One SEAL said Lt. Jacob Portier, a commander in the platoon, then told the others to gather around the corpse for a photo, leaving the platoon feeling like they had no choice but to do so.
The other side: Gallagher issued a statement to the Times via his lawyer, saying, "My first reaction to seeing the videos was surprise and disgust that they would make up blatant lies about me, but I quickly realized that they were scared that the truth would come out of how cowardly they acted on deployment."
- "I felt sorry for them that they thought it necessary to smear my name, but they never realized what the consequences of their lies would be. As upset as I was, the videos also gave me confidence because I knew that their lies would never hold up under real questioning and the jury would see through it."
- "Their lies and NCIS' refusal to ask hard questions or corroborate their stories strengthened my resolve to go to trial and clear my name."
Go deeper: Military officials say Trump's SEAL interventions embolden war criminals