San Diego, June 1 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of California, a military judge in San Diego ordered Navy SEALs Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher freed from custody, citing prosecutorial misconduct in Gallagher’s murder trial for alleged war crimes.

The judge ruled prosecutors exceeded their authority when they tried to plant computer code in e-mails in order to find the source of leaks about the case.  The court has yet to rule on whether to remove prosecutors or to throw out the case entirely.

Gallagher is accused of shooting unarmed civilians in Mosul, Iraq, and killing a wounded captive ISIS teenage fighter by stabbing him with a knife, then staging a re-enlistment ceremony over the dead teenager’s body.

President Donald Trump has signaled he’s considering a presidential pardon for Gallagher and other military members convicted of war crimes.