![\"gallgher](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/gallagher-and-wife-e1564763680434.jpg\")
\nSpecial Warfare Operator Chief Edward \u201cEddie\u201d Gallagher, left, and his wife Andrea hug after leaving the Naval Base San Diego courthouse on July 2. (Gregory Bull\/AP)<\/p>\n
\nSpecial Warfare Operator Chief Edward \u201cEddie\u201d Gallagher, left, and his wife Andrea hug after leaving the Naval Base San Diego courthouse on July 2. (Gregory Bull\/AP)<\/p>\n
The CNO, Adm. John Richardson, has dropped all charges against Navy SEAL Lt. Jacob X. Portier, who was to face a courts-martial in September on charges related to the case against Navy SEAL Chief Edward R. Gallagher. Richardson also ordered a full review of the Navy\u2019s Judge Advocate General Corps, (JAG) the judicial system for the military.<\/p>\n
Portier\u2019s charges were related to Gallagher\u2019s case, including conduct unbecoming an officer, for allegedly conducting Gallagher\u2019s reenlistment ceremony near a dead enemy combatant \u2014 the same fighter Gallagher was found not guilty of murdering.<\/p>\n
He was also charged with dereliction of duty because, prosecutors say, he failed to supervise Gallagher that day. He also was charged with failure to report war crimes allegations against Gallagher and with obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying evidence.<\/p>\n
Portier denied all the charges and pleaded not guilty. He was set to be in court Friday for a motions hearing before Richardson dropped the charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cChief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson today dismissed all charges in the case of Lt. Jacob Portier,\u201d a Navy statement said Thursday. \u201cRichardson took this action in the best interest of justice and the Navy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A Navy spokesman said the decision was from Richardson, and not the Oval Office. Richardson also ordered a full review of the Navy\u2019s Judge Advocate General Corps.<\/p>\n
In a sweeping series of measures announced Thursday night, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson dismissed all charges against a SEAL officer charged with covering up war crimes, stopped the ongoing probe of another special operator petty officer and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the performance of Navy JAG leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cChief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson today dismissed all charges in the case of Lt. Jacob Portier. He also withheld authority to take any action in the case of Petty Officer 1st Class Corey Scott,” the prepared statement read.<\/p>\n
Scott was the SEAL who confessed on the witness stand during the court-martial trial of Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward \u201cEddie\u201d Gallagher to murdering a detainee in Iraq in 2017.<\/p>\n
Navy officials in San Diego quickly leaked to media outlets that they were starting a perjury probe into Scott\u2019s sworn testimony.<\/p>\n
But the military jury hearing Gallagher\u2019s case was swayed by his candid confession that he blocked the breathing tube of a wounded Islamic State fighter so that he wouldn\u2019t be tortured to death later by Iraqi forces.<\/p>\n
The statement indicated that Richardson \u201ctook this action in the best interest of justice and the Navy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdditionally, as part of an ongoing assessment of Judge Advocate General\u2019s (JAG) Corps performance, Richardson directed Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bob Burke to conduct a Comprehensive Review into the leadership and performance of the JAG Corps. This review is intended to ensure the JAG Corps provides exemplary support to the Navy and the nation,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n
On July 2, a military panel of his peers at Gallagher\u2019s San Diego court-martial trial cleared him on premeditated murder, obstruction of justice and all but one other charge tied to a 2017 deployment with Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7, to Iraq.<\/p>\n
Gallagher, 40, was found guilty only of appearing in a photograph that depicted him near a dead Islamic State prisoner of war, an allegation he never denied.<\/p>\n
A rear admiral continues to mull his sentence and the Navy\u2019s statement on Thursday didn\u2019t address his ongoing litigation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Richardson also stripped the authority to prosecute SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Corey Scott away from Region Legal Service Office Southwest. Navy authorities had considered the viability of prosecuting him for perjury after he testified that he, and not Gallagher, killed the wounded ISIS fighter in Iraq. <\/p>\n
Here comes the “Loss of Confidence to Lead” train, and it’s not slowing down. Read the entire article here: Navy Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"