Navy Secretary Publicly Denies Report He Threatened to Resign Over Trump Intervention in Navy SEAL’s Case

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

The Secretary of the Navy is publicly denying reporting that he threatened to resign over President Donald Trump motioning to further intervene in Eddie Gallagher’s case.

Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told multiple outlets “I did not threaten to resign” following reports he threatened to walk out after Trump tweeted he would intervene in Chief Petty Officer Gallagher’s case about potential expulsion from the Navy’s elite SEAL unit.

“I did not threaten to resign,” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer tells @HFXforum after reports he considered walking after @realDonaldTrump order not to punish Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.

— Bryan Bender (@BryanDBender) November 23, 2019

“Contrary to popular belief, I am still here. I did not threaten to resign. We are here to talk about external threats and Eddie Gallagher is not one of them.” pic.twitter.com/ysa5A6pYkd

— SECNAV76 (@secnav76) November 23, 2019

Spencer’s comment comes after a report from The New York Times, which stated that Spencer and other officials are moving ahead with plans to discipline Gallagher despite Trump’s comments.

“The Navy is proceeding with the disciplinary plans against the commando, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who counts Mr. Trump as one of his most vocal supporters. The threats by the Navy secretary, Richard V. Spencer, and Rear Adm. Collin Green are a rare instance of pushback against Mr. Trump from members of the Defense Department.

Chief Gallagher was accused of shooting civilians, murdering a captive Islamic State fighter with a hunting knife in Iraq, and threatening to kill SEALs who reported him, among other misconduct. His court-martial ended in acquittal on those charges.

But the Navy ultimately demoted the chief, who was convicted of one charge: bringing discredit to the armed forces by posing for photos with the teenage captive’s dead body. Last Friday, Mr. Trump reversed that demotion, angering Navy officials, who had little choice but to accept the reversal. Nonetheless, they continued with their plans to expel Chief Gallagher from the unit.”

One of the authors of the story, Maggie Haberman, said the Times stands by the story following Spencer’s pushback.

We stand by the story. Thanks Frank. https://t.co/N627MrGZoL

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 23, 2019

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