Just months after US President Donald Trump intervened in the trial of Gallagher, the ex-Navy SEAL appeared on “60 Minutes” to discuss his past misconduct and show off his “glory wall” collection of military memorabilia - including the knife that was at the center of a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) investigation.
Gallagher, who previously violated the US military code of justice and was found guilty of taking a photo with the corpse of a teenage Daesh fighter during his 2017 deployment in Mosul, Iraq, was pardoned by US President Donald Trump in November 2019.
Despite the graphic photo showing him holding the teenager’s partially severed head with his right hand and a knife in his left hand, he told “60 Minutes” correspondent David Martin that he did not stab the Daesh fighter. Gallagher argued that the image was a trophy photo.
“They ran a test on the knife, the sheath. No blood anywhere on it. And if you look at the picture close, there's no blood on the knife. There's no blood anywhere on me," the accused war criminal said.
“The show @60Minutes is glamorizing the murdering war criminal Eddie Gallagher,” journalist David Perry said in a tweet following the program’s Twitter posting. “They have a tweet up celebrating the knife he used to murder a captive. Everyone involved with this episode, including those who greenlighted and oversaw the episode, should resign or be fired.”
Rowaida Abdelaziz of the HuffPost also called out the outlet’s decision to give airtime to the accused war criminal.
Gallagher and “60 Minutes” quickly became trending topics that extended into Monday among netizens on Twitter.
During the segment, Gallagher referred to a plaque that had Alpha Platoon Seal Team 7’s so-called motto “Kill ‘Em All” etched in the wood. New York Times reporter David Philipps noted that Gallagher made the plaque himself and breached protocol by listing his name above that of his commanding officer.
Prior to his “60 Minutes” interview, Gallagher took aim at his fellow Navy SEAL officers in a January social media video that highlighted the names and information of witnesses who testified against him in the NCIS trial. The video’s description on Instagram simply read “#thetruthiscoming” - possibly alluding to his appearance on the CBS program.