60 Minutes’ ripped for Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher interview: ‘Normalizing a war criminal’

Critics slammed “60 Minutes” for airing an interview Sunday with Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq, with some accusing the influential CBS broadcast news magazine of “normalizing a war criminal.”

Gallagher in July was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder in a military court trial that was centered on the killing of an ISIS militant during a 2017 deployment in Iraq. The 40-year-old was convicted of a lesser charge of posing for a photo with an ISIS fighter’s corpse.

The “60 Minutes” interview also included a look at Gallagher’s personal life post-trial, which included him working out and showing off his war memorabilia.

Critics, including Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser to President Obama, took to Twitter to question CBS News for providing Gallagher such a big platform.

What on earth was 60 Minutes thinking? https://t.co/izXTeTTjIy

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) March 1, 2020

Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher shows 60 Minutes his war memorabilia, including the knife seen in his photo with the dead ISIS fighter. https://t.co/nDZBPHA0ub pic.twitter.com/b86c5oI8Qu

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 1, 2020

.@60Minutes should consider some type of update, retraction,or, at the very least, an explanation on how this segment actually happened. Normalizing a war criminal is bad enough, but not engaging in basic research is something else. #Gallagher https://t.co/lZVdxfhlVK

— Bishop Garrison (@BishopGarrison) March 2, 2020

I think you mean convicted war criminal. Argh—come on guys. What is wrong with you? https://t.co/MhRQp9uMk2

— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) March 2, 2020

Eddie Gallagher is a war criminal who was so sadistic in his conduct that his fellow Navy SEALs testified against him in open court. He bragged about killing women. He threatened his colleagues if they reported it.

There is no “other side” to this story.#Boycott60Minutes

— Charlotte Clymer ️‍ (@cmclymer) March 2, 2020

#Boycott60Minutes @60Minutes How could you do this? https://t.co/Zf18dxLz7z

— Debra Messing✍ (@DebraMessing) March 2, 2020

Who’s the @60Minutes producer who approved a glowing profile of a violent, murderous war criminal today? Who were the advertisers?

— Anil Dash (@anildash) March 1, 2020

The Hill has reached out to “60 Minutes” for comment.

During the interview with correspondent David Martin, Gallagher credited President Trump’s support of him, stating he’d be in imprisoned for life otherwise.

“If the president hadn’t intervened in any way … I believe I’d be in prison for life,” Gallagher said.