But the judge said he didn't have the power to authorize such a tactic and wasn't told they planned to target emails sent to the defense lawyers or a journalist. He said investigators told him privately they planned to embed code in what he believed to be a court document to help them find the source of leaks. The military justice system has gotten few war crime convictions and been criticized for being ineffective.Īt hearings last week, Rugh indicated he was misled about the investigation into news leaks. It is extremely unusual for a military judge to remove the prosecution or dismiss a case only days before the start of a trial. Gallagher pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of an injured teenage militant in Iraq in 2017 and to attempted murder for picking off two civilians from a sniper's perch. President Donald Trump, who intervened to move Gallagher to better confinement, has considered dismissing the charges. Republicans in Congress have rallied in support of Gallagher, saying he has been mistreated. The removal of Czaplak could delay the trial scheduled to start June 10. Last week, Rugh unexpectedly released Gallagher from custody as a remedy for interference by prosecutors in the middle of a hearing that also included accusations they withheld evidence from the defense. "Chief Petty Officer Gallagher is entitled to a fair trial and the Navy is committed to upholding that principle," O'Rourke said. The Navy would not say if he would remain on the team.Ĭzaplak will be replaced with another attorney from the Navy, spokesman Brian O'Rourke said. McMahon's commanders ordered him to stop participating in the case last week and he didn't appear at hearings on Thursday and Friday. Conor McMahon, assigned to the case will not be removed, Rugh said.īut it's not clear if McMahon will stay on the prosecution team. His conduct has been entirely inappropriate."Ī Marine Corps lawyer, Capt. "Unprecedented is too tame a description for what he did," said Solis, who applauded the ruling. Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and military judge who teaches law at Georgetown, said he's never heard of anything like this, saying Czaplak's decision to track defense attorneys' emails was "contrary to legal ethics and common sense." Rugh said he would rule on whether to dismiss murder and attempted murder counts against Gallagher by the end of Wednesday. "We're still hopeful the entire case will be dismissed." "There's no way he should be allowed to continue on this case," Parlatore said. Parlatore said it was a step in the right direction. Christopher Czaplak violated ethical or professional rules, but the potential for a probe into those actions required that he be removed from the prosecution.Ĭzaplak received word of the ruling during a deposition while questioning an Iraqi general, who is a witness in the case, defense lawyer Tim Parlatore said.Ĭzaplak left in the middle of the testimony being recorded on video in San Diego for use at the trial. Rugh said it was not in his power to determine if Cmdr. The defense asked Rugh to dismiss the case or remove prosecutors because of the surreptitious effort to track defense emails without court approval in an effort to find the source of news leaks. Aaron Rugh ordered the lead prosecutor removed from the case of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher after defense lawyers accused the prosecution of spying on their emails, according to the ruling. SAN DIEGO (AP) - A military judge took the rare step Monday to remove a prosecutor accused of misconduct from the war crimes case of a decorated Navy SEAL.Ĭapt.
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