| Submit your comments on this article |
| Government |
| Bergdahl Walks |
| 2017-11-04 |
| [Breitbart] Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will receive a dishonorable discharge for desertion in Afghanistan but no prison time, a military judge ruled Friday. Bergdahl was convicted of desertion and endangering fellow troops when he left his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban. He was returned to U.S. custody in 2014 in a prisoner swap. At the Fort Bragg, N.C., sentencing hearing on Friday, Col. Judge Jeffrey Nance added that Bergdahl must forfeit $10,000 in pay and will be reduced in rank to private. The ruling followed a two-week sentencing procedure that included testimony from several of Bergdahl’s comrades. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Oct. 16, admitting guilt without prosecution assurances regarding his sentence. On Monday he apologized to those soldiers injured while attempting to rescue him. He also described the conditions under which he was kept by the Taliban, noting he was caged for four of the five years he was held. Nance did not offer an explanation on Friday for the sentence, which will be reviewed by Gen. Robert Abrams, who convened Bergdahl’s court martial. It can also be reviewed by the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals. The preliminary hearing officer’s recommendation of leniency in 2014 prompted a warning from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that he would hold a hearing if Bergdahl was not punished. The case was prominently mentioned in campaign speeches by President Donald Trump, who regularly called Bergdahl a “dirty rotten traitor” who deserved execution. Following Trump’s inauguration, Eugene Fidell, who led Bergdahl’s defense team, suggested a fair trial was impossible after Trump’s comments. |
| Posted by:Grunter |
| #6 Don't hardly seem like justice to me. It isn't. The legal establishment has forgotten why they exist. Spends a lot of time making excuses for the perps rather than do the nasty stuff they are suppose to do. They lack will to invoke real justice (unless it touches really close to home - see Tim McVeigh). |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-11-04 15:59 |
| #5 On Monday he apologized to those soldiers injured while attempting to rescue him And flowers for the guys that died looking for him? Don't hardly seem like justice to me. Or maybe desertion is just a misdemeanor nowadays. I realize the dishonorable discharge will follow Bergdahl around but I bet he finds work as a lefty tool somewhere. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2017-11-04 14:00 |
| #4 I told you why his defense team wanted military judge only. These are the legal eagles that undermined Gitmo and RoEs. A swamp in uniform. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-11-04 11:29 |
| #3 How soon before he makes a break for a sanctuary city or his ISIS "buddies". |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2017-11-04 09:38 |
| #2 He can never disappear far enough to not need to watch his back. Omar comin'! |
| Posted by: Injun Chirong9200 2017-11-04 08:30 |
| #1 But Susan Rice and Oblahblah said he had performed honorably - I guess they meant "under their standards" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2017-11-04 05:45 |