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CA Rep. Duncan Hunter Says His Unit Probably Killed “Hundreds of Civilians” in Iraq

HeadlineJun 03, 2019

And California Congressmember Duncan Hunter is coming under fire after saying he and his unit probably killed “hundreds of civilians” while serving in Iraq in 2004. Hunter made the comments during an episode of the Barstool Sports podcast “Zero Blog Thirty” while defending Navy SEAL officer Edward Gallagher, who was released from custody Thursday as he awaits his trial for alleged war crimes.

Edward Gallagher is facing charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing a wounded captive teenager by stabbing him with a knife, then staging a re-enlistment ceremony over the teenager’s dead body, which he then photographed and reportedly texted to a fellow Navy SEAL. During the interview, Hunter also acknowledged taking a photo with a dead combatant, and said “a lot of us have done the exact same thing.” This is Congressmember Hunter responding to a question about the killing of the captive teenager.

Rep. Duncan Hunter: “I frankly don’t care if he was killed. I just don’t care. And that’s my personal point of view. And as a congressman, that’s my prerogative to help a guy out like that. If—even if everything that the prosecutors say is true in this case, then, you know, Eddie Gallagher should still be given a break, I think.”

Edward Gallagher is due to stand trial on June 10 for his alleged war crimes. Separately, Duncan Hunter is facing charges related to the misuse of campaign funds and is set to face trial later this year.

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