Bergdahl expected to plead guilty to avoid facing trial
WASHINGTON — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for half a decade after abandoning his Afghanistan post, is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, two individuals with knowledge of the case said.
Sgt. Bergdahl’s decision to plead guilty rather than face trial marks another twist in an eight-year drama that caused the nation to wrestle with difficult questions of loyalty, negotiating with hostage takers and America’s commitment not to leave its troops behind. President Donald Trump has called Sgt. Bergdahl a “nogood traitor” who “should have been executed.”
The decision by the 31year-old Idaho native leaves open whether he will return to captivity for years — this time in a U.S. prison — or receive a lesser sentence that reflects the time the Taliban held him under brutal conditions. He says he had been caged, kept in darkness, beaten and chained to a bed.
Sgt. Bergdahl could face up to five years on the desertion charge and a life sentence for misbehavior.
Freed three years ago, Sgt. Bergdahl had been scheduled for trial in late October. He had opted to let a judge rather than a military jury decide his fate, but a guilty plea later this month will spare the need for a trial.
Sentencing will start on Oct. 23, according to the individuals with knowledge of the case. An attorney for Sgt. Bergdahl, Eugene Fidell, declined to comment on Friday. The Army declined to discuss whether Sgt. Bergdahl had agreed to plead guilty.
Sgt. Bergdahl was a 23year-old private in June 2009 when he disappeared from his post near the Pakistan border.
Videos soon emerged showing him in captivity by the Taliban. For years, the U.S. kept tabs on Sgt. Bergdahl as behind-the-scenes negotiations played out in fits and starts.
InMay 2014, he was handed over to U.S. special forces in a swap for five Taliban detainees, fueling a U.S. debate about whether Sgt. Bergdahl wasa hero or a deserter.
As critics questioned whether the trade was worth it, President Barack Obama stood with Sgt. Bergdahl’s parents in the White House Rose Garden and defended the swap. The United States does not “leave our men or women in uniform behind,” Mr. Obama declared, regardless of how Sgt. Bergdahl came to be captured.