PROGRAMMING ALERT: On Sunday, Nov. 10 at 10 p.m and Monday, Nov. 11 at 1 a.m. EST Fox News will air, "Modern Warriors: A Veterans Day Special." An exclusive director's cut of the special will be also available on Fox Nation.
Decorated Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher sat down with Fox News' Pete Hegseth in an exclusive interview days before reports surfaced that President Donald Trump is set to take "imminent action" in his case and those of two other U.S. military service members accused of war crimes.
Gallagher was acquitted in July of several serious charges after serving nine months in prison, including time in solitary confinement. He was found not guilty of the murder of an Islamic State (ISIS) member in Iraq and the attempted murder of Iraqi civilians, though he was convicted on one count of taking a photo with the body of an ISIS fighter.
Gallagher appealed the decision, but last month the Navy upheld the sentence, which stipulated a reduction in rank that would cost him up to $200,000 in retirement funds.
On Monday, Hegseth said he spoke with President Trump who indicated that he would like to act on Gallagher's case before Veterans Day on Nov. 11. Hegseth reported on Friday that the review is still ongoing and a decision will be announced soon.
The Fox News host spoke to Gallagher before the Navy decision upholding his sentence.
"Eddie, I can't help but think that last Veterans Day you probably had a much different view after what you've went through," said Hegseth in "Modern Warriors: A Veterans Day Special."
"Actually," said Gallagher, "I was watching this show in prison ... when you had everybody else on last Veterans Day."
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"Unbelievable," replied Hegseth. "You were in prison for your life ... your reputation, how then do you reflect on Veterans Day?"
"The situation I was in this past year, as frustrating and tragic as it was," said Gallagher, "it's not going to take away from how I feel about being a veteran and how I feel about our military."
Gallagher was joined by three fellow special forces operators, former U.S. Army Ranger Mat Best, retired Green Beret Scott Mann, and the former Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill, who is credited with killing Usama bin Laden.
The exclusive interview was conducted after the military operation in northern Syria that lead to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Hegseth told Fox News that all four veterans had been on similar raids and were able to provide fresh insight into how it all went down.
"They've been in a Black Hawk helicopter ready to touch down in an operation like the one that killed Baghdadi," he said.
Hegseth also observed that these veterans shared a common opinion on how the military changed after Trump became commander-in-chief.
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"There guys to a man emphasize that the culture inside special operations changed the day that Trump took office," he said. "Their mission was to destroy ISIS and the culture empowered the guys at the local level to make decisions about enemy targets, as opposed to what they said was multiple levels of decision-makers that tied their hands and at the very least delayed actions required to fight the enemy."
To watch more episodes of "Modern Warriors" go to Fox Nation and sign up today. On Sunday, Nov. 10 at 10 p.m and 1 a.m. EST Fox News will air, "Modern Warriors: A Veterans Day Special." The extended director's cut will be available on Fox Nation on Monday, Nov. 11th.
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Fox Nation programs are viewable on-demand and from your mobile device app, but only for Fox Nation subscribers. Go to Fox Nation to start a free trial and watch the extensive library from Tomi Lahren, Pete Hegseth, Abby Hornacek, Laura Ingraham, Ainsley Earhardt, Greg Gutfeld, Judge Andrew Napolitano and many more of your favorite Fox News personalities.
Fox News' Yael Halon, Dave Montanaro and Frank Miles contributed to this report.
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