Richard Spencer has penned a scathing op-ed in the Washington Post about his sudden departure as secretary of the Navy:

“The case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was charged with multiple war crimes before being convicted of a single lesser charge earlier this year, was troubling enough before things became even more troubling over the past few weeks. The trail of events that led to me being fired as secretary of the Navy is marked with lessons for me and for the nation.”

Spencer noted that he pushed back on Donald Trump’s involvement of the case, but was overruled every time:

“President Trump involved himself in the case almost from the start…. I came to believe that Trump’s interest in the case stemmed partly from the way the defendant’s lawyers and others had worked to keep it front and center in the media.”  

In other words, Fox News influenced him. Host Pete Hegseth repeatedly advocated for Gallagher.

Spencer says at one point, “I sent him (Trump) a note asking him not to get involved…The next day, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone called me and said the president would remain involved.”

This was a shocking and unprecedented intervention in a low-level review. It was also a reminder that the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.

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