Thursday, May 30, 2019
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO
Lawyers for a Navy SEAL accused of killing an Islamic State prisoner in Iraq in 2017 want the case thrown out because of alleged prosecutorial misconduct that includes withholding evidence and conducting surveillance on the defense.
Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher plan to ask a military court today in San Diego to dismiss the case or remove the prosecutor and, possibly, have the judge himself step aside.
The hearing comes with Gallagher’s trial less than two weeks away and amid mounting pressure from defense lawyers who discovered prosecutors planted tracking software in emails sent to them and a journalist that may have violated attorney-client privilege and other constitutional rights.
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.