Acquitted Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Thanks Fox News and President Trump for Their Support

Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, center, walks with his wife, Andrea Gallagher, as they leave a military court on Naval Base San Diego, Tuesday, July 2, 2019, in San Diego. A military jury acquitted the decorated Navy SEAL Tuesday of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive under his care in Iraq in 2017. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The decorated Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive in Iraq thanked Fox News, President Donald Trump and two congressmen for their support during his trial.

Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher also told Fox & Friends on Wednesday he feels “blessed to have the support that I had this whole time from the country and from the troops.”

Asked what his message might be to future Navy SEALS, Gallagher said “loyalty is a trait that seems to be lost.”

The same military jurors who acquitted Gallagher Tuesday will now deliberate his punishment for the single charge on which he was convicted: posing with the militant’s corpse.

___

Melley contributed from Los Angeles.

SOURCE: JULIE WATSON and BRIAN MELLEY, AP