The Navy’s top lawyer — Vice Adm. James Crawford III — illegally urged a fellow military leader in San Diego to convict a potentially innocent SEAL of sex crimes, according to a newly filed affidavit by a junior Navy attorney.

The document escalates an already unusual case about whether senior commanders hijacked justice amid what they saw as growing political pressure in Washington, D.C., to be tougher against sexual-assault crimes in the military. The SEAL, who has served his prison sentence, is appealing the ruling in a bid to clear his military record and restore his reputation.



For the record: This story incorrectly characterizes Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Dowling’s affidavit in a court martial rape conviction case for Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Keith Barry. In the affidavit, Dowling described a remark from Vice Adm. James Crawford III, as relayed to him by Rear Adm. Patrick Lorge. In the affidavit, Dowling did not draw any conclusions about unlawful command influence.

Dated June 5 and filed this week as part of the sailor’s appellate motions, the affidavit was signed by Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Dowling, a former staff attorney in the Judge Advocate General’s Office for Navy Region Southwest. Dowling alleges that his former boss, now-retired Rear Adm. Patrick Lorge, and Crawford exerted unlawful influence after the 2015 court-martial conviction of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Keith Barry.

Under military law, senior leaders can nix court-martial verdicts if they consider them unjust — a power that has come under increasing criticism in Congress in recent years as rape and other serious criminal convictions were tossed out by the brass.


Barry was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and a dishonorable discharge, but he has never stopped declaring that he’s innocent. His court-martial involved a brief romance he had with a civilian woman: In court, she said Barry raped her while he said she later lied about their consensual relationship as a way to get even after he quit dating her.

Lorge retired as commander of Navy Region Southwest in late 2015, months after he let the court-martial conviction against Barry move forward.

According to Dowling’s affidavit filed on Thursday with the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, Lorge said Crawford “told me don’t put a target on my back. He said I have smart lawyers, let them figure it out.”

In his own affidavit filed on May 5, Lorge claimed that Crawford urged him to not “put a target on my back.” He also wrote that without Crawford’s pressure, he wouldn’t have allowed Barry’s sexual-assault conviction to stand.


According to another military attorney advising Lorge, Lt.Cmdr. Leah O’Brien, he told her that Crawford had warned him: “If you disapprove the findings in this case, it will ruin your career,” according to her affidavit.

The Navy recently transferred Dowling from San Diego to Washington, D.C., and he could not be reached by The San Diego Union-Tribune for comment. Navy Region Southwest officials said they didn’t know O’Brien’s current location, either.

The Navy is weighing whether to scrap Barry’s conviction or send the issue back to San Diego for second review by an admiral who has never been involved in his case.

“This affidavit removes any doubt that the very top leaders in the Navy (Judge Advocate General’s office) committed unlawful command influence,” said David Sheldon, Barry’s attorney in Washington, D.C. “It confirms that not only is there smoke, there is a conflagration burning out of control.


“It is, without question, time for the conviction of Senior Chief Barry to be overturned and for the judge advocate general of the Navy to resign. Admiral Crawford’s actions are devastating to the fairness of the military justice system. They undermine the most basic tenets of military justice and demonstrate a complete disregard for Senior Chief Barry’s rights,” Sheldon added.

Citing the ongoing appeal, Navy officials in both San Diego and Washington, D.C., declined to comment.


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