WALSH: So his defense attorney, Tim Parlatore, has described the got-him-with-my-knife comment as a joke. Now, seven SEALs have been granted immunity to testify in this trial.ĬORNISH: What are Gallagher's lawyers saying? The next month, Gallagher is also charged with shooting an elderly man and then, later in July, a young girl. WALSH: So in May 2017, Gallagher is accused of stabbing a wounded teenage ISIS fighter and posing with the body, then texting a photo to a fellow SEAL, saying, good story behind this - got him with my hunting knife. What is Chief Gallagher accused of doing? He joins me.ĬORNISH: Steve, let's start with the charges.

Steve Walsh with member station KPBS has been covering the case for months now. SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher is charged with a number of violations related to his military service in Iraq in 2017. Defense attorney Tim Parlatore said on Thursday the surprising admission from Scott that he had asphyxiated the wounded fighter showed that the prosecution never asked about the cause of death and the Navy Criminal Investigation service had gone into the case with minds made up.The trial of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes got underway in San Diego today. Gallagher could face life in prison if convicted. The seven-sailor jury at the court martial must decide whether the fighter's death was murder as alleged by the prosecution or a mutiny by sailors under Gallagher's command in Iraq, as the defense contends.

The judge on Thursday denied an immediate defense motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors say Gallagher, 39, who began his 18-year career as a medic, briefly treated the young Islamic State fighter, then pulled out his knife and stabbed him in the neck. The Islamic State fighter had been captured by Iraqi forces following house-to-house fighting in Mosul and dumped on the ground at a base outside the Iraqi city, the prosecution said in its opening statement on Monday.

Edward 'Blade' Gallagher on tour (Image: Daily Record)

Navy seal facing war crimes