During the trial for Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Thursday afternoon, who is accused by the government of committing war crimes and improperly killing an ISIS terrorist, a medic who worked on SEAL Team Seven said that he is the one who is guilty of murder. Gallagher pleaded not guilty to all charges.
"On the stand this morning was SEAL Team Seven member Corey Scott. He served with Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher in Iraq in 2017 and was there when that ISIS fighter died. He first testified this morning for the prosecution that yes, he saw Chief Gallagher stab the ISIS fighter, the wounded ISIS fighter, in the neck. But then in cross-examination, he said that he did not believe that that stabbing killed the ISIS fighter," Fox News' Jonathan Hunt reported from San Diego.
"In fact, he went on to say that he as a combat medic was holding that ISIS fighter after the stabbing and he, Corey Scott, then put his thumb over a breathing tube that had been inserted into the ISIS fighter's mouth. He covered that breathing tube with his thumb until the iSIS fighter asphyxiated. In other words, this witness, Corey Scott, says he was the one who caused that death of that wounded ISIS fighter," he said.
More from the Navy Times:
Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott said Thursday that he asphyxiated the teenage Islamic State fighter after Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher unexpectedly stabbed him.
Gallagher is facing court-martial on charges of murder and attempted murder.
Scott says the militant had been stabilized and was breathing normally after he and Gallagher treated him for wounds suffered in an airstrike.
Scott says the patient would have survived the stabbing, but he decided to plug the youth's air tube because he believed he would eventually be tortured by Iraqi forces.
A prosecutor says Scott never revealed that version of events in previous conversations and accused him of lying to help Gallagher.
Advocates for Gallagher, who say he is innocent, have lobbied President Trump for a pardon.
