Republican admits his military unit ‘killed probably hundreds’ of Iraqi civilians including ‘women and children’

Former artillery officer turned lawmaker also admits posing for picture with dead combatant

Duncan Hunter said his unit were probably responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Fallujah (Staff Sgt Houston F White Jr/AFP/Getty Images)

California Republican Duncan Hunter said his military unit “killed probably hundreds of civilians” in Iraq, his latest eyebrow-raising comment since being charged last year with spending campaign funds on personal expenses.

Mr Hunter, a Marine Corps veteran, made the remark while renewing his call for clemency for Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL chief who is accused of killing an Isis prisoner under his care in 2017.

“I frankly don’t care if he was killed. I just don’t care,” Mr Hunter said of the slain prisoner in an interview on Zero Blog Thirty, a military-themed podcast produced by Barstool Sports.

He added: “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.”

One of the podcast’s hosts, Kate Mannion, pushed back, arguing that “it’s such a slippery slope” and that Mr Gallagher’s alleged killing of the prisoner “goes against our honour so egregiously”.

“Well, then, how do you judge me?” Mr Hunter replied.

“So, I was an artillery officer, and we fired hundreds of rounds into Fallujah, killed probably hundreds of civilians – if not scores, if not hundreds of civilians.

“Probably killed women and children, if there were any left in the city when we invaded. So do I get judged, too?”

The interview was published last week and gained broader notice after CNN and USA Today reported on Mr Hunter’s comments.

Prosecutors say Mr Gallagher stabbed an injured Isis prisoner and then posed with the teenage militant’s corpse.

They also accuse Mr Gallagher of shooting unarmed civilians. Mr Gallagher, whose trial is scheduled to begin on 10 June, has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Hunter has previously defended Mr Gallagher.

He wrote a USA Today opinion piece last month, arguing for clemency.

He also told a town hall audience that he had taken a picture of himself with a dead combatant during his US military service.

Mr Hunter and his wife, Margaret, have been charged with using more than $250,000 (£197,000) in campaign money to pay for family vacations, school tuition, theatre tickets and other personal expenses. The two have pleaded not guilty; a trial is set for September.

The discussion about military treatment of foreign combatants has taken on an increased urgency in recent weeks after President Donald Trump pardoned Michael Behenna, a former Army lieutenant who served five years in prison for the 2008 murder of an Iraqi citizen.

Mr Trump tweeted approvingly of Mr Gallagher in March and is rumoured to be considering clemency for him.

In the Zero Blog Thirty interview, Mr Hunter also argued that the Isis fighter “was going to die anyway”, again prompting pushback from one of the hosts.

“Well, either way, it’s taking the knife to somebody who’s already wounded, which does go against our rules of war, or it’s desecrating the corpse, which also goes against it,” Ms Mannion said. “I just feel like we’re above that, that’s all.”

According to the Defence Department’s Law of War Manual, enemy military dead must be treated with “the same respect as would be afforded to, or expected for, friendly military dead”.

Washington Post