Navy SEAL charged with war crimes 'threatened to kill his teammates if they turned him in for stabbing and killing a wounded ISIS fighter'
- In newly revealed details from a January ruling by a Navy judge, SEAL Chief Edward 'Eddie' Gallagher, charged with murder, allegedly intimidated witnesses
- Navy Judge Captain Aaron Rugh wrote of fellow SEALs who say Gallagher threatened those who spoke about a 2017 murder of a wounded ISIS prisoner
- Another detail in the ruling divulged 2014 charges of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct for attempting to hit a Naval police officer with a car
- Gallagher's restrictive confinement while awaiting trial brought the attention of Trump who recently demanded he be transferred to better conditions
- The alleged witness intimidation is what led Rugh's ruling on confining Gallagher
A Navy SEAL accused of war crimes threatened to kill his own teammates if they turned him in for fatally stabbing a wounded ISIS fighter, it has emerged.
A January ruling by a Navy judge recently shed light on the reasoning for keeping Navy SEAL Chief Edward 'Eddie' Gallagher, 39, confined.
One witness claimed to hear Gallagher threaten to kill anyone who spoke out about the death of the teenage ISIS fighter, who had been brought in for treatment, according to court documents obtained by the San Diego Tribune.
Another detail in the ruling also alleges Gallagher deliberately drove his car at a police officer on Naval Base Coronado in July 2014.
Navy Judge Captain Aaron Rugh's January 'findings of fact' revealed previously undisclosed details that the judge believed supported a decision to keep Gallagher confined before his trial.
Newly released details of a Navy judge's ruling in January sheds light on accusations of witness intimidation that led to SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher's continued restricted confinement
Edward Gallagher is accused of repeatedly stabbing a wounded teenage Islamic State fighter who was a prisoner during a 2017 deployment
A defense attorney for Gallagher disputed the leaked ruling's claims, according to Business Insider, saying the threats to kill fellow SEALs are 'entirely fabricated.'
Gallagher, currently jailed in military prison Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in California on charges of premeditated murder and aggravated assault, has become a cause among some politicians after family and supporters lobbied for less restrictive confinement.
He's accused of killing the 15-year-old Islamic State fighter who was in his care by repeated plunging a knife into the already wounded prisoner's body.
In Rugh's ruling, members of the platoon met to discuss the incident, and one member allegedly heard Gallagher say that he'd kill whoever spoke against him if he were to find out who it was.
The following night, another witness said Gallagher allegedly asked him for the names of 'any platoon members who disagreed' with his actions.
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Navy Judge Captain Aaron Rugh (seen here as a Commander in October 28, 2015) ruled in January that a pattern of witness intimidation by the accused Edward Gallagher led to his restricted confinement
The guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale leaves Naval Base Coronado in this file photo. Another detail of Rugh's ruling alleges an incident in 2014 where Gallagher deliberately drove a vehicle at a base police officer
Gallagher allegedly held his reenlistment ceremony with the corpse and posed for a photo with the militant's body sending it to another SEAL, a Chief Warrant Officer.
Other SEALS claimed to have witnessed Gallagher shoot an elderly man and a girl in a flower hijab, and also firing and shoot at and miss a 12-year-old girl.
One witness to the stabbing incident said Gallagher claimed to have incriminating information about him and other platoon members and that he would 'bring them all down.'
According to Rugh, Gallagher also allegedly conspired to post witness names to a Facebook groups restricted to SEALs to get them ostracized.
Gallagher, a SEAL with nearly two decades of service, was also accused of sniping at civilians during his tours of duty
Details in the ruling describe witnesses claiming Gallagher shot at an elderly man and young girls, one as young as 12, from a sniper position
Rugh's ruling concluded that based on Gallagher's 'continued and methodic acts of witness intimidation' that his pretrial confinement was necessary.
In February a military judge dropped two charges against the vet - charges for alleging performing the reenlistment ceremony next to the corpse and for operating a drone over the corpse.
It was unclear what became of the 2014 charges for aggravated assault and disorderly conduct at Naval Base Coronado.
He still faces charges of premeditated murder for stabbing the teen and aggravated assault for firing rounds at civilians.
Andrea Gallagher, left, with husband Edward Gallagher, center, and their son. According to Edward's attorneys, he currently has no contact with his wife and son, who live in Florida, except 'in the presence of a command representative or defense attorney'
Trump tweeted shortly before departing Mar-a-lago for Trump International Golf Club. Cameras captured the president in route to the links
Since January, his cause has been taken up by representatives of congress and President Trump who said that Gallagher was to be transferred while he awaits trial back in March.
However, Andrea Gallagher, wife of Edward, appeared on Fox's 'America's Newsroom in an attempt to inform Trump that her husband was allegedly still being restrictively confined.
'It's an absolute nightmare. And I just want to let the president know he's being lied to,' Andrea Gallagher said. 'There is corruption from the top down involved in this and we're looking to expose it.'
According to Gallagher's lawyers, some of the restrictions on him include him being required to be in full uniform all day, restricted to vending machine and on-site convenience store food and is to have no contact with his wife and son, who live in Florida, except 'in the presence of a command representative or defense attorney.'
A hearing on is scheduled for April 18 on Gallagher's current confinement.
