SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Navy has denied a request for clemency and upheld a military jury's sentence that will reduce the rank of a decorated Navy SEAL convicted of posing with a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq in 2017.
A spokesman for naval operations, Cmdr. Nate Christensen, said Tuesday that Adm. Mike Gilday made the decision after careful review of the trial and the clemency request by lawyers for Edward Gallagher.
Gallagher's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, says they are disappointed and only a presidential tweet could change things. He says Gallagher will now lose up to $200,000 when he retires because of his loss of rank.
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A military jury acquitted Gallagher this summer of murder in the killing of the wounded captive and other charges.
