Navy SEAL seeks to have slaying case thrown out

SAN DIEGO — Lawyers for a Navy SEAL accused of killing an Islamic State prisoner in Iraq in 2017 want the case thrown out because of alleged prosecutorial misconduct that include withholding evidence and conducting surveillance on the defense.

Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher plan to ask a military court Wednesday in San Diego to dismiss the case or remove the prosecutor and, possibly, have the judge himself step aside.

“Gallagher’s case has been irreparably corrupted by a government campaign of outrageous and illegal conduct,” attorney Tim Parlatore said in the opening salvo of his motion to dismiss the charges. “This prosecution threatens to make an unequivocal farce of our justice system.”

The motion comes with Gallagher’s trial less than two weeks away and amid mounting pressure from the defense after lawyers discovered prosecutors planted tracking software in emails sent to the defense team and a journalist that may have violated attorney-client privilege.

The Navy has said it did nothing wrong and has no plans to remove the prosecutor.

Among the evidence apparently kept from the defense were results of a polygraph exam Gallagher was given weeks before his arrest on charges that he fatally stabbed an injured young teenage militant and picked off civilians from a sniper’s perch.

Gallager denied committing any war crimes during the test, Parlatore said in court papers. Gallagher was told he passed the exam.

The effort to get the case thrown out comes as President Trump has considered pardoning several service members accused of war crimes, including Gallagher, who has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors have said Gallagher stabbed the injured militant and then posed for a photo with his corpse for his re-enlistment ceremony. He sent a text to fellow SEALs later saying, “I got this one with my hunting knife.”

Parlatore dismissed that as a joke that reflects the dark humor of a warrior. No blood was found on the knife by forensics experts, he added.

Parlatore said he’s aware of evidence that showed at least one member of Gallagher’s squad practiced medical procedures on the militant when he was dead or nearly dead, which might indicate he died from a different cause.