Donald Trump stated one of his top priorities was reversing the decline Barack Obama imposed on America’s military.
That led to President Trump facing some hard choices.
And all hell broke loose when Donald Trump gave the U.S. military one stunning order.
The case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher has turned into a national story in recent months.
Gallagher was accused of war crimes in Iraq and stood trial.
President Trump always wants to stand by America’s heroes and let it be known he was considering pardoning Gallagher before the trial completed.
The president finally agreed to wait until the jury reached a verdict before issuing any pardon in the case.
President Trump’s support for Gallagher paid off when a jury acquitted Gallagher of all major charges against him but did find him guilty of posing for a photograph with a terrorist’s corpse.
Everyone thought that was the end of the story.
But Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer pursued the case through a military review board that threatened to take away Gallagher’s trident pin which meant the Navy would throw Gallagher out of the SEALs.
President Trump tweeted that this was unacceptable and that Gallagher would keep his pin and rank.
“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!” the president tweeted.
But in what many considered an act of mutiny, Spencer refused to honor the President’s request because the Navy said it did not consider Trump’s request a formal order.
The situation came to a head over the weekend when Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced he asked for – and accepted – Secretary Spencer’s resignation after being given a direct order by President Trump.
“I can control what I can control,” Esper told reporters after explaining the decision. “The president is the commander in chief. He has every right, authority and privilege to do what he wants to do.”
President Trump fleshed out his decision in a series of tweets following Esper announcing Spencer turned in his resignation.
“I was not pleased with the way that Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s trial was handled by the Navy. He was treated very badly but, despite this, was completely exonerated on all major charges. I then restored Eddie’s rank. Likewise, large cost overruns from past administration’s contracting procedures were not addressed to my satisfaction.” The president continued, “Therefore, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer’s services have been terminated by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. I thank Richard for his service & commitment. Eddie will retire peacefully with all of the honors that he has earned, including his Trident Pin.”
In what many believe was a final act of insubordination, Spencer smeared President Trump in his resignation letter claiming President Trump undermined order and discipline in the military.
“Unfortunately, it has become apparent that in this respect, I no longer share the same understanding with the commander in chief who appointed me, in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline. I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took,” Spencer’s resignation letter read.
However, despite Spencer’s attempts to go after Gallagher, Secretary of Defense Esper announced Gallagher would be allowed to retire and retain his rank in the SEALs because all the public attention made it impossible for Gallagher to receive a fair review.
Great American Daily will keep you up to date on any new developments in this ongoing story.