Trump Says He Rescinded Awards for Prosecutors in SEAL Case

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he ordered the Navy to rescind achievement awards given to military lawyers who prosecuted a SEAL that many conservatives have said was wrongly accused of war crimes.

The SEAL, Eddie Gallagher, was found not guilty of murder in July. He faced multiple charges, including that he killed a teenage combatant for Islamic State in 2017. Trump alleged the two prosecutors engaged in misconduct in Gallagher’s case.

The four military prosecutors who argued the case against Gallagher were awarded Navy Achievement Medals eight days after the SEAL’s acquittal for their roles in the case, the Navy Times reported, citing a Freedom of Information Act request. The awards raised questions because the attorneys had been sanctioned by a Navy judge for violating Gallagher’s rights, according to the Times.

Gallagher, a special operations chief, was also accused of shooting at civilians. His case became something of a cause célèbre on the political right, where figures including Fox News host Sean Hannity have called him a hero who was wrongly charged.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Wayne in Washington at awayne3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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