Despite an unwritten code of silence, several SEALs testified this summer that they witnessed their platoon leader, Edward Gallagher, commit crimes in Iraq. They have never spoken publicly outside the trial. Now you can hear their accounts:
nytimes.com/2019/12/27/us/…
nytimes.com/2019/12/27/us/…
“The guy is freaking evil,” one SEAL told investigators. “You could tell he was perfectly O.K. with killing anybody that was moving,” said a medic. You can watch the never-before-seen video of the investigation of Chief Gallagher here. nyti.ms/2ZporLK
It’s striking how much emotion the videos show. Men who made it through the grueling SEAL selection process (not to mention combat) break down and start to weep as they describe what they say they saw Chief Gallagher do in Iraq. nytimes.com/2019/12/27/us/…
We reached out to members of the platoon, sometimes traveling thousands of miles to knock on their doors. All declined to speak to us on the record. But their private text messages give a lot of insight.
“Tell the truth, don’t lie or embellish. That way, he can’t say that we slandered him in any way.” one sniper told the others when they first tried to report the chief. Private text messages showed platoon members repeatedly encouraged one another to stand strong and be honest.
Edward Gallagher has repeatedly insulted his accusers online since the trial, especially one who he has mocked for crying during an interview with authorities. In a statement to the NYT he accused them of lying and called them “cowardly.”
nytimes.com/2019/12/27/us/…
nytimes.com/2019/12/27/us/…
