Trump: I’m ‘sticking up’ for the troops
Dems slam ‘interference’ in military justice
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to order the Navy to allow SEAL Edward Gallagher to retain his status in the elite force.
“I have to protect my war fighters,” Trump said in the Oval Office a day after the top Navy official was ousted after expressing concern about the case. “I think what I’m doing is sticking up for our armed forces.”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that Trump ordered that Gallagher be allowed to retire without losing his status as a SEAL.
Gallagher was acquitted of stabbing a wounded Islamic State prisoner and firing on Iraqi civilians. But he was convicted of posing with the captive’s corpse and was demoted. Trump reversed Gallagher’s demotion this month.
Democratic lawmakers blasted Trump for wading into the Gallagher case. Some expressed concern about the firing of U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer. Esper demanded his resignation over his handling of the case.
“This was an outrageous, irresponsible interference by President Trump in the military justice system,” said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. “The White House’s handling of this matter erodes the basic command structure of the military.”
In a letter to Trump on Sunday, Spencer Spencer said he could not in good conscience follow an order that he believed would undermine the principle of good order and discipline in the military.