A Navy SEAL accused of war crimes filed a motion for his case to be thrown out, accusing prosecutors of withholding exculpatory evidence, according to The Associated Press.
Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher is accused of murdering a teenage ISIS fighter in 2017 and shooting civilians from a sniper’s perch. Attorneys for Gallagher claimed in the motion that the prosecution did not provide the results of a polygraph Gallagher passed to his lawyers, according to the AP.
Attorney Tim Parlatore said he was only aware of the exam because Gallagher told him he took it, along with investigation documents showing the test being scheduled.
{mosads}“Gallagher’s case has been irreparably corrupted by a government campaign of outrageous and illegal conduct,” Parlatore said in the motion. “This prosecution threatens to make an unequivocal farce of our justice system.”
Polygraph tests are not considered reliable enough to be admissible in civilian or military courts, and thus it is unclear whether the results of Gallagher’s would be considered evidence of his innocence and therefore among the material the prosecution is required to share with the defense, according to Gary Solis, a Georgetown law professor who previously served as a military judge and Marine Corps prosecutor.
The Navy denied any wrongdoing and said it will not remove the prosecutor, according to the AP.
Gallagher is one of several service members accused or convicted of crimes President Trump is reportedly considering for a pardon. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a veteran of the Marine Corps, this weekend also defended Gallagher and accused the military justice system of corruption, saying he himself had also taken pictures of bodies, one of the allegations against Gallagher.