Trump has intervened in events surrounding the court-martial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher despite the support of top Navy leaders for a formal review of Gallagher's fitness to remain a SEAL.

A military jury in July convicted Gallagher of illegally posing for pictures with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter while deployed to Iraq in 2017 but acquitted him of murder in the detainee's death. Gallagher also was cleared of charges that he deliberately fired on unarmed civilians.

He was sentenced to a demotion in rank and pay, but not prison time.

Trump last Friday restored Gallagher's rank and pay, allowing him to retire on a full pension, while pardoning two Army officers who were separately accused of war crimes in Afghanistan.

Critics said Trump's actions undermined military justice and sent a message that battlefield atrocities would be tolerated.

However, the Navy's top SEAL, Rear Admiral Collin Green, then convened a special five-member panel to review the case and recommend whether Gallagher should be stripped of the 'trident pin' designating him a SEAL.

Gallagher, 40, was formally notified on Wednesday that he was the subject of a "trident review board" hearing set for Dec. 2.

Trump's rebuke on Twitter came the next morning.

"The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher's Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!" Trump tweeted.

A short time later, Gallagher was told by Navy officials that the review would proceed as planned.

Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, a Navy spokesman in Washington, issued a statement Thursday evening indicating the Navy was looking for a formal directive, as opposed to a presidential tweet.

"The Navy follows the lawful orders of the President," he said. "We are aware of the President's tweet and we are awaiting further guidance."

Australian Associated Press