Military judge frees Navy SEAL in advance of murder trial

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A decorated Navy SEAL facing a murder trial in the death of an Islamic State prisoner was freed from custody Thursday after a military judge cited interference by prosecutors.

The unexpected move drew gasps in a San Diego courtroom after lawyers for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher presented evidence to get the case dismissed because of prosecutorial misconduct.

The judge has not ruled yet on whether to throw out the case or remove prosecutors for launching an unusual effort to track emails sent to defense lawyers and a journalist to find the source of news leaks in the politically charged case. That hearing continues Friday.

The judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, said he was freeing Gallagher as a remedy for prosecutors interfering with his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Gallagher's wife, Andrea, who has led a campaign to free her husband, put her hands to her face and burst into tears.

"I feel like it's a small victory on the way to the larger victory," Andrea Gallagher said outside court while her husband stood quietly by her side in his Navy whites. "He's now free because of the misconduct by these prosecutors."

He declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Navy prosecutors wouldn't comment on Gallagher's freedom or developments at the hearing.

Defense attorney Tim Parlatore had accused prosecutors of a "rogue, relentless, and unlawful cyber campaign" that may have violated attorney-client privilege and hurt Gallagher's ability to get a fair trial.

Evidence at the hearing showed prosecutors had enlisted a Naval Criminal Investigative Service intelligence specialist to conduct criminal background checks on three civilian lawyers, including Parlatore, and a journalist with the Navy Times who has broken several stories based on leaked documents.

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