SAN DIEGO — A Navy SEAL witness is at risk of a perjury charge after testifying that he — and not Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher — had killed a young Islamic State prisoner in Iraq, according to an email sent to a lawyer for the witness.
Officials are considering charging Special Operator First Class Corey Scott with lying under oath during Gallagher’s court-martial, said an email sent Tuesday by Navy Capt. Donald King, a lawyer for the senior commander who convened the war crimes proceedings.
Scott “testified directly contrary to previous official statements — thus exposing him to prosecution,” the email said. Scott’s lawyer, Brian Ferguson, forwarded King’s email to The Associated Press, but did not immediately comment on its contents.
Scott, a medic, shocked the courtroom last week after he admitted to the killing, saying he plugged the militant’s breathing tube after Gallagher stabbed the boy.
Scott called it an act of mercy, saying he feared the boy would be tortured and possibly killed by Iraqi forces if he survived.
Navy officials said Scott told them before his testimony that he sat with the wounded prisoner until he took his last breath, but he never mentioned plugging the breathing tube.
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday. Prosecution witnesses, including a fellow Navy SEAL, testified that Gallagher stabbed the prisoner twice in the neck in May 2017 and that the attack could have been fatal.
After the judge rejected a defense request to issue a summary judgment finding Gallagher, 40, innocent of murder and attempted murder, defense lawyers Wednesday went on the offensive in the San Diego murder trial of Gallagher, a Bronze Star recipient charged with killing the militant and shooting at civilians in Iraq.