Trump says U.S Navy Secretary fired over Poor Handling of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher Case

Listen to this article

The U.S Department of Defense has announced that Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer had been asked to resign by Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper. The U.S President Donald Trump took to Twitter to declare that Spencer’s firing was due to his alleged poor handling of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher’s trial. The forced resignation of Spencer comes after he reportedly threatened to quit when Trump declared in a tweet on Thursday that he would stop the Navy from stripping Gallagher of the Trident pin. Gallagher was a Chief Petty Officer. He was found guilty and acquitted of posing with the body of a dead foreign prisoner.

A spokesperson for the U.S Department of Defense, Jonathan Hoffman announced a statement on Sunday. He said, “Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper has asked for the resignation of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer after losing trust and confidence in him regarding his lack of candor over conversations with the White House involving the handling of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher”. Some news sparked criticism with some blaming Trump of undercutting military leadership by intervening in the case. The president defended his administration’s decision to oust Spencer in a series of tweets.

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…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2019

Trump wrote, “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”. He added, “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”. He also said, “Admiral and now Ambassador to Norway Ken Braithwaite will be nominated by me to be the new Secretary of the Navy. A man of great achievement and success, I know Ken will do an outstanding job”!