Pardoned former SEAL Eddie Gallagher attacks SEALs who testified against him as 'cowards'

Former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who was pardoned of one war crime conviction and acquitted of more serious charges, posted a video on social media attacking the SEALs who testified against him as "cowards," according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Gallagher published the video on Facebook and Instagram, and they appear to be promotional material for an upcoming, unspecified media project.

"For my entire adult life, I've had the honor and privilege of fighting for this country and your freedom," Gallagher said in the video. "Even though I went to trial and exposed all the lies that were said about me by certain cowards in my platoon and found not guilty, there are those to this day who refuse to accept that fact."

Some SEALs told the Union-Tribune that Gallagher violated norms and endangered SEALs and their families with the video, which identifies active duty SEALs, shows their faces, and even reveals their current assignments.

"Attempting to call attention to (those SEALs') status in the way it's been done does not serve the mission or the interests of the Navy," said David Shaw, former petty officer 1st class. "To attempt to out (their) status raises questions about the decision to do so."

Gallagher's lawyer said everything in the video had already been made public. The New York Times had previously published clips from deposition interviews during which the SEALs discussed what they believed were war crimes committed by Gallagher in Iraq.

Gallagher was accused of shooting civilians and killing a young ISIS captive by stabbing him in Iraq in 2017. He was acquitted of those charges, but convicted of taking a photo with the ISIS captive's corpse. He was demoted as a result, but had his rank restored by President Donald Trump after the conviction.

The president's intervention in the case angered former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, and the conflict resulted in Spencer's firing.