General says no one swayed him in Bergdahl case

Defense lawyers say senator’s influence affected objectivity.

The FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Army general who ordered Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s court martial testified Wednesday that he wasn’t swayed by negative comments from a powerful U.S. senator, saying that he takes his duty “very, very seriously.”

Gen. Robert Abrams, the four-star head of U.S. Army Forces Command, found himself in the unusual position of defending his objectivity against a defense effort to remove him from the case. Abrams referred the case to a general court-martial rather than a lower-level tribunal in December, weeks after U.S. Sen. John McCain indicated there would be repercussions if Bergdahl weren’t punished.

Abrams grew testy when a defense attorney asked him to explain why he wasn’t afraid of McCain, who leads a Senate committee with the power to approve or scuttle assignments for top military commanders.

“I have served my country for 34 years. I am at the highest rank I am ever going to attain,” he replied, adding that he has a mandate to ensure a fair trial for Bergdahl. “I take that duty and responsibility very, very seriously.”

Addressing defense attorney William Helixon as “counselor,” Abrams added, “Up to this point no one — and I mean no one — has tried to influence me in any way.”

In two motions, the defense had questioned whether Abrams faced improper conflicts. The judge, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, ordered Abrams to testify because of a reference in one of the motions to the general destroying dozens of letters from Bergdahl supporters and critics.

It’s unusual for a fourstar general to testify in a court-martial hearing, said Eric Carpenter, a former Army lawyer who teaches law at Florida International University.

The defense motion to disqualify Abrams cited his prior role advising former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during efforts to return Bergdahl from captivity.

It also raises questions about whether Abrams considered defense objections to the findings of a preliminary hearing.

Bergdahl walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and wound up a captive of the Taliban and its allies until 2014, when the Obama administration traded Guantanamo Bay detainees for his release. Bergdahl faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. His trial is set for February.