Eddie Gallagher accused of murder in the death of an Islamic State prisoner and two civilian Islamists was freed by a judge Thursday who cited interference by the prosecutors.

His wife cried and the courtroom gasped. He is one of the men under consideration for a pardon by President Trump. Trump previously got Gallagher removed from the brig and transferred to better custody conditions at a Navy hospital.

Lawyers for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher presented evidence to get the case dismissed because of prosecutorial misconduct.

The judge has not ruled yet on whether to throw out the case or remove prosecutors for launching an unusual effort to track emails sent to defense lawyers and a journalist to find the source of news leaks in the politically charged case. That hearing continues Friday.

Judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, also said Gallagher’s 6th Amendment rights have been violated and prosecutors interfered with his right to counsel.

Defense attorney Tim Parlatore had accused prosecutors of a “rogue, relentless, and unlawful cyber campaign” and prosecutors hired a Navy intelligence expert to do a criminal background check on the civilian lawyers.

Gallagher, a highly decorated Navy SEAL has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of an injured teenage militant in Iraq in 2017 and not guilty to attempted murder for allegedly picking off civilians from a sniper’s perch. He had his picture taken near one of the dead.

But the central question in Gallagher’s case is whether he and other SEALs rendered first aid to the wounded Islamic State fighter or if they executed him.

Gallagher served for twenty years and eight combat tours. He suffers from multiple head injuries.

Because the military judge has sealed most evidence in the case and has placed a gag order on all parties, Stackhouse said he can’t address specific allegations or delve into most details of the NCIS probe.

“But what we’ve learned in our independent investigation into these allegations is that a crime simply didn’t happen,” he said.

Stackhouse traces the beginning of the NCIS investigation to April, while Gallagher was preparing to retire from the Navy and leave California for Florida.

Opened on April 4, the base facility aids service members recovering from traumatic brain injury. Stackhouse said that Gallagher suffers from multiple head injuries incurred during his combat duty overseas. Gallagher, 39, grew up in Indiana and first enlisted in the Navy in 1999. He first served as a corpsman attached to the Marines; 14 years ago, he became a SEAL. He was promoted to chief in 2015. He has been awarded two Bronze stars with V device, Meritorious Unit commendation, Presidential Unit citation two Navy Commendation medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals- one with V device, and four good conduct awards. We don’t know the details of the event but many soldiers languish in U.S. military prisons undeservedly for years. </s> SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Latest on the court case of a Navy SEAL charged with murder (all times local):

A military judge has chided investigators in a Navy SEAL's war crimes case for not testifying about who authorized a scheme to snoop on defense lawyer emails.

Capt. Aaron Rugh (ROO) said Friday that refusal to testify could be a sign of culpability.

Rugh is considering whether to dismiss murder and other charges against Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher.

Defense lawyers accuse prosecutors of misconduct and want them removed if the judge doesn't throw the case out.

Prosecutors have downplayed the effort to embed code in emails sent to the defense and a journalist in an effort to find the source of news leaks.

Rugh unexpectedly released Gallagher from custody Thursday as a remedy for interference by prosecutors.

Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to crimes in Iraq.

Attorneys for a decorated Navy SEAL facing a murder trial in the death of an Islamic State prisoner will try again to have the case dismissed after their client was unexpectedly freed from custody.

A military judge in San Diego released Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher on Thursday, saying it was a remedy after prosecutors interfered with his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Gallagher's lawyers have condemned the prosecution for launching an unusual effort to find the source of news leaks in the politically charged case by embedding tracking code in emails sent to defense attorneys and a reporter.

The hearing on their request to dismiss the case continues Friday.

FILE - This 2018 file photo provided by Andrea Gallagher shows her husband, Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who has been charged with murder in the 2017 death of an Iraqi war prisoner. Lawyers for Gallagher are seeking to have the charges dismissed for alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Gallagher are scheduled to argue in military court Wednesday, May 29, 2019, that the case against him has been tainted by lies, withholding evidence and conducting surveillance on the defense. (Andrea Gallagher via AP, File) </s> San Diego -- Attorneys for a decorated Navy SEAL facing a murder trial in the death of an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) prisoner will try again Friday to have the case dismissed, after their client was unexpectedly freed from custody.

A military judge released Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher from custody Thursday, drawing gasps in a San Diego courtroom.

The judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, said releasing the platoon leader was a remedy for prosecutors interfering with his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Gallagher's lawyers have condemned the prosecution for launching an unusual effort to find the source of news leaks in the politically charged case by embedding tracking code in emails sent to defense attorneys and a Navy Times journalist.

Defense attorney Tim Parlatore had accused prosecutors of a "rogue, relentless, and unlawful cyber campaign" that may have violated attorney-client privilege and hurt his client's ability to get a fair trial.

Gallagher's wife, Andrea, who has led a campaign to free her husband, put her hands to her face and burst into tears.

Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher hugs his wife, Andrea Gallagher, after leaving a military courtroom on Naval Base San Diego on May 30, 2019; the decorated Navy SEAL is facing a murder trial in the death of an ISIS prisoner was freed from custody after a military judge cited interference by prosecutors Julie Watson / AP

"I feel like it's a small victory on the way to the larger victory," Andrea Gallagher said outside court while her husband stood quietly by her side in his Navy whites.

"We have been utterly terrorized by this entire farce of a case," Andrea Gallagher said.

He didn't comment, on the advice of his attorneys.

A spokesman for the Navy prosecutors also wouldn't comment on Gallagher's freedom or developments at the hearing, which continues Friday.

Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of an injured teenage militant in Iraq in 2017 and attempted murder for allegedly picking off civilians from a sniper's perch.

His platoon supervisor, Lt. Jacob Portier, is fighting charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for allegedly conducting Gallagher's re-enlistment ceremony next to the militant's corpse.

Efforts to get the case thrown out come as President Trump considers pardoning several service members accused of war crimes, including Gallagher, who faces trial June 10.

One of Gallagher's civilian defense attorneys, Marc Mukasey, is also a personal lawyer for the president, the Reuters news service notes.

Gallagher could face life in prison if he's convicted of all the charges, including murder, attempted

murder and obstructing justice, Reuters points out.

Gallagher says fellow SEALS testifying against him -- several after being granted immunity -- are disgruntled subordinates who made up allegations in an effort to get him stripped of his command, Reuters adds.

Evidence at the hearing showed prosecutors enlisted a Naval Criminal Investigative Service intelligence specialist to conduct criminal background checks on three civilian lawyers, including Parlatore, and a journalist with the Navy Times who has broken several stories based on leaked documents.

On Thursday, Rugh said investigators told him privately that they planned to embed code in what he believed to be a court document to help them find the source of leaks but the judge said he didn't have the power to authorize it and wasn't told they planned to target emails sent to the defense lawyers or a journalist.

The lead prosecutor downplayed the move at a related hearing earlier in the day. Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak said the code embedded in the email recorded nothing more than where and when messages were opened by recipients.

Czaplak said the tracking ended May 10 after he was confronted by defense lawyers who discovered the code in an unusual logo of an American flag with a bald eagle perched on the scales of justice beneath Czaplak's signature.

On Thursday, Czaplak said the code was similar to what marketers use to see when an email is opened and on what device.

"It's still a web bug and it's still unethical," countered defense lawyer Jeremiah J. Sullivan III, who represents Portier.

The judge in Portier's case, Capt. Jonathan Stephens, said from what he had seen the tracking effort wasn't able to view the contents of any emails.

Several experts testified that the code couldn't generally be used to identify a specific person or capture content. </s> A Navy SEAL accused of killing an injured teenage ISIS prisoner of war in Iraq was freed from custody on Thursday by a military judge as a move to rectify unsanctioned tracking of the defense team’s emails.

The judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, has not ruled yet on whether to throw out the case against Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher or remove the prosecutors who allegedly attached tracking software to emails they sent to Gallagher’s lawyers in a bid to find the source of leaks to the media about the case.

WIFE OF NAVY SEAL EDDIE GALLAGHER SAYS MILITARY PROSECUTORS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED OVER ‘CRIMINAL WRONGDOING’

Gallagher’s attorneys accused the prosecutors of misconduct and initially demanded that Rugh be removed from the case. The motion against the judge was withdrawn after it was revealed that Rugh did not know of the email tracking methods despite condoning finding out who leaked court memos.

Attorney Tim Parlatore accused prosecutors of a “rogue, relentless, and unlawful cyber campaign” that may have violated attorney-client privilege and hurt Gallagher’s ability to get a fair trial. Marc Mukasey, another member of Gallagher’s legal team, is an attorney for President Trump, who has reportedly considered pardoning the Navy SEAL along with several other military personnel accused or convicted of war crimes, according to The New York Times.

Trump previously got Gallagher removed from the brig and transferred to better custody conditions at a Navy hospital.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Gallagher is set to face trial on June 10. He is accused of fatally stabbing a 15-year old ISIS fighter to death in Iraq in 2017, shooting two civilians in the same year, and opening fire on crowds, all charges which he has pleaded not guilty to.

His platoon supervisor, Lt. Jacob Portier, is fighting charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for allegedly conducting Gallagher’s re-enlistment ceremony next to the militant’s corpse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> May 31 (UPI) -- A Navy SEAL accused of war crimes was released from pretrial custody after a military judge cited prosecutors interfered with the case, according to officials.

Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher, 39, was being held at Naval Medical Center San Diego ahead of his court-martial for allegedly committing war crimes, including the killing of a wounded 15-year-old Islamic State militant.

Military Judge Capt. Aaron Rugh released Gallagher following the five-hour hearing Thursday due to prosecutors interfering with the case by placing trackers on emails, Navy Region Southwest spokesman Brian O'Rouke said.

"That means he is free from restriction," O'Rouke said following the hearing, adding that his release is because of "all the interference with the email tracking," The Orange County Register reported.

His release follows earlier hearings where attorney Tim Parloatore, Gallagher's defense, argued for charges against his client to be dropped due to the prosecutor having placed trackers on emails sent to members of the defense and to an editor of Navy Times.

"It is illegal for the government to use [email] in the way they did without a warrant," Parlatore told Military Times. "What this constitutes is a warrantless surveillance of private citizens, including media, by the military -- We should be terrified."

The defense has argued the case should be dismissed due to the alleged misconduct by the prosecution team and that Gallagher's team intends to again request for the charges to be dismissed Friday, The Orange Country Register reported.

Gallagher was arrested Sept. 11 at Camp Pendleton's Intrepid Spirit Center and faces four counts of violating military law, including the most serious for the alleged killing of a 15-year-old IS militant.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In March following months of campaigning from the SEAL's family, President Donald Trump tweeted that he would have Gallagher moved from a military brig to be held to a less restrictive location.

"In honor of his past service to our country, Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court," Trump tweeted March 30. "Process should move quickly." </s> SAN DIEGO — A decorated Navy SEAL facing a murder trial in the death of an Islamic State prisoner was freed Thursday from custody after a military judge cited interference by prosecutors.

The unexpected move drew gasps from those at a hearing in a San Diego courtroom in which lawyers for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher sought to get the case dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct.

Gallagher’s wife, Andrea, who has led a campaign to free her husband, put her head in her hands and burst into tears.

The judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, has not ruled yet on whether to throw out the case or remove prosecutors over tracking emails sent to defense lawyers and a journalist in an effort to find the source of news leaks in the politically charged case. He said freeing Gallagher at this point would be a remedy for interference by prosecutors.

Attorney Tim Parlatore accused prosecutors of a “rogue, relentless, and unlawful cyber campaign” that may have violated attorney-client privilege and hurt Gallagher’s ability to get a fair trial.

Efforts to get the case thrown out come as President Donald Trump considers pardoning several service members accused of war crimes, including Gallagher. Gallagher faces trial June 10.

Trump previously got Gallagher removed from the brig and transferred to better custody conditions at a Navy hospital.

During the hearing Thursday, Rugh indicated he was kept in the dark by prosecutors about the email monitoring.

Rugh said prosecutors had told him privately they planned to embed code in what he believed to be a court document to help them find the source of leaks. But he said he didn’t have the power to authorize such an investigative tool, and wasn’t told they planned to plant the code in emails to defense lawyers or a journalist.

Rugh said he thought prosecutors were coordinating the investigation with the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego. Rugh said he wasn’t aware that a federal prosecutor told the military prosecutor to make sure they had the judge’s approval before launching the tracking effort.

Parlatore withdrew his motion to have the judge removed from the case after learning he had not authorized the scheme.

The lead prosecutor downplayed the move at a related hearing earlier in the day. Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak said the code recorded nothing more than where and when email messages were opened by recipients that included a journalist for the Navy Times.

Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of an injured teenage militant in Iraq in 2017 and attempted murder for allegedly picking off civilians from a sniper’s perch.

His platoon supervisor, Lt. Jacob Portier, is fighting charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for allegedly conducting Gallagher’s re-enlistment ceremony next to the militant’s corpse.

Defense lawyer Jeremiah J. Sullivan III, who represents Portier, said there was no probable cause for the tracking effort, which was discovered in an unusual logo of an American flag with a bald eagle perched on the scales of justice beneath Czaplak’s signature.

Czaplak said the tracking ended May 10 after he was confronted by defense lawyers and acknowledged the effort in a closed-door hearing. He disclosed no other details at the time.

On Thursday Czaplak said the emails contained code similar to what marketers use to see when an email is opened and what device was used to open it.

“It’s still a web bug and it’s still unethical,” Sullivan said.

The judge in Portier’s case, Capt. Jonathan Stephens, said from what he had seen the tracking effort wasn’t able to view the contents of any emails.

Several experts testified that the code embedded in a signature line in the emails collected information on internet protocol addresses and could tell what web browser was being used, the duration it was open and could see if the message had been forwarded. But the information couldn’t generally be used to identify a specific person or capture content.

Josiah Roloff, a data forensics examiner from Spokane, Washington, said the code is typically used by marketing companies and he’s seen it used in undercover investigations. But he said he’s never seen it used to target defense lawyers. </s> SAN DIEGO — The Latest on the court case of a Navy SEAL accused of murder (all times local):

A military judge has released a Navy SEAL from custody in advance of his murder trial in the death of an Islamic State prisoner.

Capt. Aaron Rugh said Thursday that he was freeing Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher as a remedy for interference by prosecutors.

Defense lawyers accuse the prosecutors of misconduct for an effort to track defense lawyers’ emails that they say violated attorney-client privilege.

Gallagher will be freed as his lawyers continue to argue that the case be dismissed. He is scheduled to face trial June 10.



 This undated selfie photo provided by Andrea Gallagher shows her husband, Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who has been charged with murder in the 2017 death of an Iraqi war prisoner. Lawyers for Gallagher are seeking to have the charges dismissed for alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Gallagher are scheduled to argue in military court Wednesday, May 29, 2019, that the case against him has been tainted by lies, withholding evidence and conducting surveillance on the defense. (Edward Gallagher via AP) (Associated Press)

There were gasps in the courtroom as Rugh made the announcement. Gallagher’s wife put her head in her hands and burst into tears.

A military judge overseeing the case of a Navy SEAL charged with murder says he never approved an effort by prosecutors to track defense lawyers’ emails.

Capt. Aaron Rugh said Thursday he knew Navy investigators were trying to find the source of leaked court documents, but did not know of or approve any email tracking.

Defense lawyers say the move amounted to prosecutorial misconduct and they want charges against Gallagher dismissed or prosecutors removed from the case.

A military prosecutor downplayed the tracking effort, saying it did nothing more than record information on where and when emails were opened by recipients.

Defense lawyer Tim Parlatore withdrew his motion to have the judge removed from the case after learning Rugh was kept in the dark about what prosecutors did.

A military prosecutor has downplayed an effort to track emails of lawyers defending a Navy SEAL charged with murder.

Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak (CHAP-lak) said Thursday that the investigation to find the source of news leaks in the case of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher did nothing more than record information on where and when email messages were opened by recipients.

Defense lawyers say prosecutors engaged in misconduct and want charges against Gallagher dismissed or prosecutors removed from the case.

Czaplak says the emails contained code similar to what marketers use to see the internet protocol address where an email was opened and when.

Defense lawyers have called the device a web bug and have said the tracking was unethical.

Lawyers for a Navy SEAL accused of killing an Islamic State prisoner say prosecutors lied, withheld evidence and illegally conducted surveillance of the defense team.

Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher are scheduled to ask a military judge Thursday in San Diego to dismiss the charges or kick prosecutors off the case for misconduct.

Defense lawyer Tim Parlatore says the government’s conduct irreparably tainted the politically charged case.

Attorneys are also seeking more information on efforts by prosecutors to plant tracking software in emails sent to the defense and a journalist.

The Navy has said the software was used as part of an investigation to find the source of news leaks and that it did nothing wrong and has no plans to remove the prosecutor.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Military judge frees Navy SEAL from custody in advance of murder trial in death of Islamic State prisoner. </s> WASHINGTON — A former Blackwater Worldwide contractor accused of firing the first rounds in a mass shooting that killed more than a dozen unarmed civilians in a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007 was found guilty of one count of murder Wednesday.

Nicholas Slatten was found guilty of first-degree murder by a unanimous federal jury in the death of Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubia’y.

Slatten, 35, wearing a blue suit and blue tie, was smiling on and off throughout the short hearing, and shrugged to his attorneys when he heard the verdict. No sentencing date has been set.

Slatten was first charged in 2008 along with three other contractors for Blackwater, a private military company, but that case was thrown out.

When the case was brought back in late 2013, Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The other three guards were convicted of charges including manslaughter and attempted manslaughter.

The four men were part of a Blackwater security team code-named Raven 23, who shot 31 innocent Iraqis in the traffic circle of Nisur Square in September 2007. The shooting happened after a car bomb exploded in downtown Baghdad.

Fourteen of the Iraqis, including women and children, died.

Prosecutors in the 2013 trial said Slatten was the person who “initiated the entire incident” when he fired the first shots “without justifications.”

But in 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals threw out Slatten’s murder conviction and said he deserved a new trial.

That second trial ended in September 2018 when a mistrial was declared after weeks of the jury being unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Blackwater was founded by Erik Prince, who is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy Devos. Since the 2007 shooting, Prince sold the company, which reorganized and now exists as Academi.

Gary Grumbach reported from Washington, D.C., Elisha Fieldstadt reported from New York.
Eddie Gallagher, a U.S. Navy Seal charged with the murder of an ISIL prisoner, attempted murder of civilians, and obstruction of justice, is temporarily released from custody amidst allegations of misconduct by Navy prosecutors.