One of the SEALS who accused their former platoon leader, retired Special Operations Chief Eddie Gallagher, of war crimes in Iraq said Friday he stood by his testimony to Navy investigators.
Former Special Operator First Class Joshua Vriens told The Post that he was telling “the truth” when he said “the guy was toxic” while being questioned by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents.
Vriens spoke the same day The New York Times published an account of testimony from him and two other SEALS, who called Gallagher “freaking evil” and a “psychopath” in videos obtained by the newspaper.
“I’m glad people are looking for the truth but there’s no way to tell the whole story in a couple hours. My testimony is the truth, of course,” said Vriens, who left the service and spoke from an undisclosed location “in the woods.”
He scoffed when asked about Gallagher’s claims that the SEALS lied in their testimony.
“That’s all he’s got? The videos that we have would prove the opposite. All you have to do is read between the lines. I did my part, I’m just trying to move on,” Vriens said of his cooperation in the probe.
Gallagher’s case made headlines after President Trump intervened on his behalf while the SEAL was facing war-crimes charges, ignoring Pentagon brass who warned the commander-in-chief that his interference could undermine the military justice system.
“I think what I’m doing is sticking up for our armed forces, and there’s never been a president that’s going to stick up for them, and has, like I have,” Trump said in November.
But the interviews with members of SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon show that the elite soldiers, who were reluctant to testify, had a less favorable view of their former superior officer.
“The guy is freaking evil,” Special Operator First Class Craig Miller said about Gallagher.
“You could tell he was perfectly OK with killing anybody that was moving,” Special Operator First Class Corey Scott said.
Neither Miller nor Scott could be reached for comment.
The platoon members accused Gallagher of shooting at a 12-year-old and shared rumors that Gallagher had targeted civilians.
Gallagher in a statement called the SEALS liars and cowards.
“My first reaction to seeing the videos was surprise and disgust that they would make up blatant lies about me, but I quickly realized that they were scared that the truth would come out of how cowardly they acted on deployment,” he said.
Gallagher was acquitted of premeditated murder in the death of an ISIS prisoner, but was convicted in July of discrediting the armed services after posing for a photo next to a dead ISIS fighter in 2017 in Iraq.
He was demoted to petty officer first class and had his pay cut — until Trump stepped in to reverse his punishment and restore his rank.
Gallagher retired from the Navy on Nov. 30 as planned.
