Op-Ed: Bottom line up front regarding prosecutor spying on SEAL Eddie Gallagher’s attorneys and Navy Times reporter

I believe we’ve been down this road before. I’m less likely to believe that the Chief is a completely without fault – for something. The simple fact is that he got himself into the brig. And to re-iterate, my stance there is drugs. Use and/or abuse.
We are in agreement on the rest though. I would also like to see him out of jail yesterday, but in addition – I would like to see the entire NSW chain of command, and by extension – the entire Navy chain shaken up and the rot cut out.
This bugging of emails that happened is no small thing, and IMO, can have very little to do with Gallagher’s case – much more likely to be a personally motivated act by somebody much higher up. By what I can gather the prosecutor is claiming he had authority to do it, coming from the highest levels of DoD, AND DoJ?
There are very, very few reasons why something like that could happen – and be legit, and not be a gross abuse and totally inappropriate use of intelligence and law enforcement powers. If they are willing to engage this in case of this profile? How many others under the radar did they, are they, doing it?

This case was falling apart quickly long before this last of prosecutorial team misconduct recently arose. You’ve got one or two prima-Dona types on a combat team and stories snowballed until it got totally out of hand. And some used their position to influence their subordinates. I don’t know if it was only professional jealousy or the fact that the Chief was about to rate most them cowards in battle.
Even with total amnesty’s most if not all the accusers are recanting or outright refusing to testify.
Many many holes in almost every original story.
Now I see some Backtrack ,even the ones that now write for this site and that have openly convicted this Chief and advised his defense to use the TBI defense.
I want the Chief out of jail now, but I want him to get his fair day in court so at least some of the witch-hunt can be brought to light.
Yes , I see a lot of resemblance with this and the total injustice that our President has been just put through.

I can think of no instance where what’s happened here with bugging emails would be justified other than a criminal investigation of classified information leaks and/or an intelligence operation geared at foreign intelligence service activities.
In short – I can think of no instance where what’s happened here with bugging emails can be justified for anything other than the highest priorities of law enforcement and intelligence with regard specifically to national security.
anything and everything I’ve gathered about this entire sad saga of Gallagher – doesn’t seem to involve any of that.

In any court whether civilian or military to conduct surveillance on defense counsel and pierce the attorney client privilege, the defendant needs to be appointed neutral new counsel who would be advocating for the defendant, further the court must order the surveillance and approve it. The bar must be set so high that the defense counsel being surveilled is committing a crime or acting in a way that is so egregious to the interests of the client, that removing him or her is not an acceptable remedy.

I understand that. Referring to the last four sentences, second to last paragraph of your article.