Retired SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher sues Navy secretary and New York Times

[Elderberry]

Navy Times by  Geoff Ziezulewicz 6/1/2020

 Attorneys for retired Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher filed a lawsuit last week against a New York Times reporter and newly sworn in Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite, alleging that the service unlawfully leaked information and that the reporter defamed Gallagher in news articles.

Filed Friday, the lawsuit alleges that journalist David Philipps “willfully, intentionally, and maliciously published numerous false statements about Chief Gallagher to the public.”

It also alleges that Navy members leaked information about Gallagher’s case protected under the Privacy Act, including “dozens of witness interview summaries and hundreds of seized text messages between Chief Gallagher and other Navy SEALs.”

Citing the ongoing litigation, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Clayton Doss declined comment Monday.

Danielle Rhoades-Ha, a New York Times spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that “Mr. Gallagher’s complaint is long on conspiracy theory and very short on facts about what actually happened in Iraq.”

More: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/06/01/retired-seal-chief-eddie-gallagher-sues-navy-secretary-and-new-york-times/