You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Home Front: WoT
Bowe Bergdahl to Face General Court Martial
2015-12-15
[ABCNEWS.GO] Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's case has been referred to a general court martial, where he could face a life sentence if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy and he could face five years of prison time if convicted of desertion.

"The U.S. Army Forces Command's Commanding General referred two charges today, Dec. 14, in the case of United States vs. Sgt. Robert B. Bergdahl to a General Court-Martial," the Army said in a statement.

"The two specific charges referred under the U.S. Armed Forces' Uniform Code of Military Justice are: (1) Article 85: 'Desertion with Intent to Shirk Important or Hazardous Duty;' and (2) Article 99: 'Misbehavior before the Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place,'" the statement added.

Bergdahl's attorney, Eugene Fidell, said in a statement that Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, did not accept the recommendation from a pre-trial hearing that Bergdahl's case should be referred to a special court martial that would have limited prison time for a conviction to a year. Instead, Abrams decided to refer Bergdahl's case to a general court martial for which he could get five years if convicted of desertion and a life sentence if convicted of misbehavior before the enemy.

"The convening authority did not follow the advice of the hearing officer who heard the witnesses," said Fidell, noting he "had hoped the case would not go in this direction."

"We will continue to defend Sgt. Bergdahl as the case proceeds," Fidell said. "We again ask that Donald Trump cease his prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against our client. We also ask that the House and Senate Armed Services Committees avoid any further statements or actions that prejudice our client's right to a fair trial."

The date of the arraignment hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will be announced at a later date.
Posted by:Fred

#11  Defense lawyers defend. They whine and bitch and huff and puff. That's their job. The Art. 32 officer's recommendation is just that: a recommendation. Nothing more. The decision is the CG's alone, and all the relevant players know that. The rest is just noise.

It just sucks this gomer came back alive at all.
Posted by: RandomJD   2015-12-15 22:02  

#10  the Defense lawyer is whining that "the Command disregarded the investigating Officer's recommendation" that was obviously political/too lenient/could've been written by the defense

Suck it. Sometimes political cover doesn't override honor and integrity (something unknown in this administration and their prostrate brass)
Posted by: Frank G   2015-12-15 20:54  

#9  FWIW, my bet is on a slow grind too. Military prosecutors hate losing as much as any others, and will plod along carefully to be sure their case is airtight. Also, defense lawyers whine about how "justice delayed is justice denied," but strangely they're the ones who request as many delays as they can. A case this high profile makes everyone nervous nellies who will drag things out as long as possible.
Posted by: RandomJD   2015-12-15 20:30  

#8  Well Done Gen Abrams, this was shaping up to be a huge stain on the Honor and credibility of the service. Regardless of what happens now, the fix cannot be made without it becoming even more obvious. My guess is slowwalking the trial to minimize impact until the remaining few weeks/months of the Obumble disaster.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2015-12-15 15:20  

#7  I can see several ways this could play out:
1. It gets slow walked so that the actual trial doesn't happen until after Jan 2017. Bergdahl gets convicted and sentenced to life.

2. It gets fast tracked, Bergdahl gets convicted and Obama pardons him on his last day.

3.It goes at a normal pace, and Bergdahl gets acquitted due to "command influence" - from the White House.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia    2015-12-15 15:04  

#6  Semi-retirement. GOs are subject to 'recall' at the behest of the Secretary. Might have a new one in January 2017. Might see the return of a number of former 'stars'.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2015-12-15 14:43  

#5  Congrats to General Abrams on your impending 'retirement.'
Posted by: Mae West   2015-12-15 14:39  

#4  Congrats to General Abrams for avoiding the Fix
Posted by: Frank G   2015-12-15 07:27  

#3  Once again, what happened to the initial Serious Incident Report (SIR) and AR 15-6 Investigation, platoon mates testimonies, and findings.
Posted by: Besoeker   2015-12-15 05:38  

#2  The approval of the referral to General Court Martial probably came with instructions to not proceed until after the Presidential elections
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2015-12-15 04:33  

#1  diversionary entertainment news
Posted by: Skidmark   2015-12-15 03:09  

00:00