No prison time for Bergdahl
Soldier dishonorably discharged; Trump criticizes judge’s ruling as ‘total disgrace’
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who deserted his Afghanistan outpost and was then held captive in brutal conditions for five years, received no prison time but was reduced in rank to private and will be dishonorably discharged from the army, a military judge ruled Friday.
In announcing the punishment, the military judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, rejected a prosecutor’s recommendation to sentence Bergdahl to 14 years’ confinement.
Nance did not elaborate on his decision before dismissing the court. Defense attorneys had argued against prison time, saying the soldier suffered enough while in Taliban hands.
Bergdahl looked pale and drawn but did not react as the punishment was read. He stood flanked by defense lawyers as the judge read the sentence.
The judge also ordered that Bergdahl be docked $1,000 per month for the next 10 months. The dishonorable discharge means Bergdahl will likely not receive any veterans benefits, his civilian lawyer, Eugene Fidell, said after the hearing.
Bergdhal will remain on active duty in the Army during an automatic appeals process.
“He’s certainly glad this is over,” Fidell told reporters Friday at the bottom of the courthouse steps.
But the punishment has not ended the controversy. President Donald Trump immediately slammed the decision in a tweet, saying: “The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.”
As a candidate, Trump called Bergdahl a “dirty rotten traitor.”
Fidell called Trump’s earlier comments an “unprincipled effort to stoke a lynch-mob atmosphere while seeking our nation’s highest office.”
Trump’s criticism of the verdict is even more striking. Presidents generally try not to make any comments that could be interpreted as an effort to undermine the independence of the legal process.
Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and faced a potential life sentence. During a sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued Bergdahl’s actions prompted a desperate manhunt that risked soldiers’ lives and led to at least three serious injuries.
In 2009, Bergdahl walked off a remote combat outpost in Afghanistan and was quickly captured. He endured five years of torture and mistreatment at the hands of the Taliban.
Defense attorneys described Bergdahl, 31, as a troubled young man who suffered from a personality disorder that made him susceptible to grandiose fantasies and conspiracies and who was often confused about the consequences of his actions.
“Sgt. Bergdahl has been punished enough,” Capt. Nina Banks, a defense attorney, said in closing arguments Thursday.
President Barack Obama won Bergdahl’s freedom in 2014 by agreeing to release five Taliban militants from captivity in exchange for the soldier.
Bergdahl endured brutal conditions while in captivity, including spending much of his time in a small metal cage, where his legs were chained, and he was regularly beaten.
The Army seemed to struggle with how to deal with the unprecedented case. The officer who initially investigated Bergdahl’s actions, then-Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, concluded Bergdahl should not face jail time.
Some of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers objected to what they viewed as hero treatment of Bergdahl. The case was referred to a general court-martial, which handles the most serious offenses, despite the earlier recommendation.