TRUMP PANS RULING AS BERGDAHL AVOIDS JAIL

FORT BRAGG, N.C. •Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who walked off his post in Afghanistan and triggered a search that left several comrades severely wounded, will serve no prison time, a military judge ruled Friday at the end of the case that stirred debate during the president campaign.

President Donald Trump, whose criticism loomed over the case, quickly called the sentence a “disgrace.”

Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban and held for five years, until President Barack Obama traded Taliban prisoners to bring him back. As a presidential candidate, Trump called for Bergdahl to face stiff punishment. He could have received up to life in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 14 years in prison.

The judge also gave Bergdahl a dishonourable discharge, reduced his Army rank from sergeant to private and ordered him to forfeit pay equal to $1,000 per month for 10 months.

The judge gave no explanation of how he arrived at his decision, but he reviewed evidence including Bergdahl’s time spent in captivity and the wounds suffered by Army searchers.

In court, Bergdahl appeared tense, grimaced and clenched his jaw. His attorneys put their arms around him and one patted him on the back. Defence lawyer Eugene Fidell told reporters after sentencing that his client “has looked forward to today for a long time.”

Bergdahl “is grateful to everyone who searched for him in 2009, especially those who heroically sustained injuries,” Fidell added.

“The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military,” the president tweeted a short time later.

Bergdahl pleaded guilty last month to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy. The judge had wide leeway in deciding the sentence because Bergdahl made no deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment.

Prosecutors had sought a stiff penalty because of wounds suffered by service members who searched for Bergdahl after he disappeared in 2009.

The defence sought to counter that evidence with testimony about Bergdahl’s suffering as a captive, his contributions to military intelligence and survival training and his mental health problems. The argument for leniency also cited harsh criticism by Trump.

The dishonourable discharge threatens to deprive Bergdahl of most or all his veterans’ benefits, but it also triggers an automatic appeal to a higher military court.

Fidell told reporters that he looks forward to the appeals court review of Trump’s statements as a candidate, which he appeared to reaffirm on the day Bergdahl pleaded guilty Oct. 16.