President Donald Trump said he would act to prevent military leadership from stripping the Trident pin from Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, after he was accused of war crimes.
“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!”
Trump commented after Gallagher’s lawyer appeared on Fox and Friends Thursday morning to discuss the military admiral readying to launch a review to strip Gallagher of his trident pin.
The Trident pin is awarded to Seals who enforce good order and discipline. Gallagher has retired but stripping the pin would be a drastic symbolic gesture removing him from the Seals, seen by many as a retaliatory gesture by his commanders.
Gallagher was acquitted of accused war crimes in July by a military jury but was found guilty of posing for a photo with a dead Islamic State fighter. The military reduced his rank, which directly affected his pay.
Trump ordered Friday that Gallagher’s rank be restored to chief petty officer.
“For more than two hundred years, presidents have used their authority to offer second chances to deserving individuals, including those in uniform who have served our country,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement at the time. “These actions are in keeping with this long history.”
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