Sparing deserter prison ‘total disgrace’ –Trump
AMILITARY judge has ruled that a US Army sergeant who spent five years in captivity in Afghanistan after deserting his post should serve no prison time for endangering his comrades.
The judge gave Bowe Bergdahl a dishonourable discharge, reduced his rank to private and said he must forfeit pay equal to 1,000 dollars (£765) per month for 10 months.
President Donald Trump tweeted that the sentence was “a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military”.
Barack Obama was criticised for trading Taliban prisoners to bring Bergdahl back to the US, and as a presidential candidate, Mr Trump had called for Bergdahl to face stiff punishment.
Bergdahl appeared tense, grimaced and clenched his jaw. His lawyers put their arms around him and one patted him on the back.
He pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy and had faced up to life in prison.
The judge had wide leeway because Bergdahl made no deal with prosecutors to limit his sentence.
Prosecutors had sought stiff punishment because of wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl after he disappeared in 2009. He was held captive by Taliban allies for five years. The defence sought to counter that evidence with testimony about Bergdahl’s suffering during his captivity, his contributions to military intelligence and survival instruction, and his mental health problems.
A punitive discharge deprives Bergdahl of most or all of his veterans’ benefits.
In closing arguments, defence lawyers argued that he had already suffered enough confinement during five years of brutal captivity.