Navy secretary fired over SEAL dispute
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday fired the Navy’s top official over his handling of a disciplinary case involving a Navy SEAL.
Esper asked for the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Spencer submitted it Sunday, said the chief spokesman for the Pentagon, Jonathan Hoffman.
Esper asked for Spencer’s resignation after learning that he had privately proposed to White House officials that if they did not interfere with proceedings against Gallagher, then Spencer would ensure that Gallagher was able to retire as a Navy SEAL, with his Trident insignia.
Spencer’s private proposal to the White House, which he did not share with Esper over the course of several conversations
about the matter, contradicted his public position on the Gallagher case, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
The firing was a dramatic turn in a long-running controversy involving Navy Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, whose case has been championed by President Donald Trump.
Esper also directed that Gallagher be allowed to retire at the end of this month, and that a Navy disciplinary board that was scheduled to hear his case starting Dec. 2 be canceled, Hoffman said. At Esper’s direction, Gallagher will be allowed to retire as a SEAL at his current rank, Hoffman said.
Hoffman said Esper lost trust and confidence in Spencer “regarding his lack of candor” over conversations with the White House involving the handling of the SEAL case.
“I am deeply troubled by this conduct shown by a senior DOD official,” Esper said in a written statement issued by Hoffman. “Unfortunately, as a result I have
determined that Secretary Spencer no longer has my confidence to continue in his position. I wish Richard well.”
Although Trump had tweeted last week that he would not let the Navy remove Gallagher from the SEALs, the Navy was given White House guidance on Friday that it can proceed as planned, the Navy official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.
This would seem to have defused a conflict between the president and Navy leaders, although it remained possible that Trump could still use his authority as commander in chief to intervene in the volatile and politically charged Gallagher case, despite assurances received by the Navy.
Spencer said Saturday at an international security forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that he did not consider a tweet by Trump an order and would need a formal order to stop the Navy review board, scheduled to begin Dec. 2, that would determine whether Gallagher is allowed to remain in the SEALs.
Trump tweeted Thursday
that the Navy “will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin,” inserting himself into the ongoing legal review of the sailor’s ability to hold onto the pin that designates him a SEAL.
The Navy on Wednesday had notified Gallagher that he will face the review board to determine if he should remain on the elite force.
Gallagher was acquitted of a murder charge in the stabbing death of an Islamic State militant captive, but a military jury convicted him of posing with the corpse while in Iraq in 2017. He was demoted from chief petty officer to a 1st class petty officer. Trump restored Gallagher’s rank.
Spencer, speaking on the sidelines of the forum, said if the president requests the process to stop, the process stops.
“The president of the United States is the commander in chief. He’s involved in every aspect of government and he can make decisions and give orders as appropriate,” he said.