Via – MSN

Defense Secretary Mark Esper asked and received the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer on Sunday over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq that angered President Donald Trump.

“I was not pleased with the way that Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s trial was handled by the Navy,” Trump said in a series of tweets after Spencer’s ouster was announced by the Pentagon. Trump confirmed that Kenneth Braithwaite, the U.S. Ambassador to Norway since 2018, will be nominated as his replacement.

Esper acted after learning Spencer had approached White House officials privately about the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher. The request was first reported by the Washington Post.

The secretary lost “trust and confidence in him regarding his lack of candor over conversations with the White House involving the handling of” Gallagher, Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in an emailed statement.

Hoffman said Esper learned Spencer had privately proposed to the White House to restore Gallagher’s rank and allow him to retire with his Trident pin while the Navy pursued disciplinary actions, at odds with his public position on the issue. Stripping an individual of the pin allows them to remain in the Navy after leaving the elite SEAL unit.

“I am deeply troubled by this conduct shown by a senior DOD official,” Esper said in the statement. “I have determined that Secretary Spencer no longer has my confidence to continue in his position. I wish Richard well.”

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