Special Operator First Class Joshua Vriens became emotional as he told investigators about the conduct of his platoon leader, Eddie Gallagher. In a video interview as part of a Navy probe into Gallagher’s alleged war crimes, Vriens described how the commander killed indiscriminately, and how he “worked for [Gallagher] and I kept my mouth shut” to protect other SEALs. “The guy was toxic,” he said.

The testimony, part of a trove of investigative materials published by the New York Times on Friday, provides an unvarnished look into the allegations against Gallagher, and the recollections of the SEALs who broke with the elite special operations force’s code of silence to report him. The man they describe is nowhere close to the “great warfighter” promoted by Donald Trump and his allies. Nevertheless, the president has repeatedly intervened in Gallagher’s case, and last month fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer over a plan to revoke Gallagher’s trident pin. “I was not pleased with the way that Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s trial was handled by the Navy,” Trump tweeted at the time, promising to restore the accused war criminal’s rank. Trump has since promoted Gallagher from the campaign trail, suggesting he was treated unfairly, and hosted him at Mar-a-Lago over the holidays.

According to the members of his platoon who testified against him, Gallagher was not a hero unduly punished for making “tough calls” in the heat of battle, but a “disgraceful” leader whose primary goal was racking up kills, targeting women and children in particular. “I think he just wants to kill anybody he can,” one SEAL told investigators. “The guy is freaking evil,” another testified. Gallagher was charged with war crimes, including over allegations that he stabbed a detainee to death and that he “gunned down a girl walking along a riverbank and an old man carrying a water jug, and threatened to kill fellow SEALs if they reported his actions.” He was acquitted of the more severe charges against him, but was convicted of posing for a photograph with the corpse of the murdered captive.

Trump has cast his support for Gallagher as proof that he “will always protect” the military. But the interviews and texts between SEALs unearthed by the Times suggest that Gallagher’s associates who served honorably are disillusioned with the president. In messages, SEALS who testified appear exasperated that Gallagher would not be held accountable for his actions. “This stuff is frustrating to read and makes it seem like Eddie will possibly get away with murder (literally),” Special Operator First Class Dylan Dille wrote in a text to other SEALs. “Let’s not forget there are 7-12 of us in here who had the balls to tell the truth about what Eddie has done.”

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