Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, center, walks with his wife, Andrea Gallagher, as they leave a military court on Naval Base San Diego, Tuesday, July 2, 2019, in San Diego. A military jury acquitted the decorated Navy SEAL Tuesday of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive under his care in Iraq in 2017. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The decorated Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive in Iraq thanked Fox News, President Donald Trump and two congressmen for their support during his trial.
Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher also told Fox & Friends on Wednesday he feels “blessed to have the support that I had this whole time from the country and from the troops.”
Asked what his message might be to future Navy SEALS, Gallagher said “loyalty is a trait that seems to be lost.”
The same military jurors who acquitted Gallagher Tuesday will now deliberate his punishment for the single charge on which he was convicted: posing with the militant’s corpse.
By JULIE WATSON and BRIAN MELLEY
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