Hearing delayed for US soldier Bergdahl amid prejudice claim
Military judge worries about Trump impact
WASHINGTON: The sentencing hearing for Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier who faces life in prison for desertion after being held captive by Afghan insurgents for five years, opened yesterday amid accusations that President Donald Trump has prejudiced the trial. Sergeant Bergdahl, 31, was seen in a dress uniform arriving at the military court in Fort Bragg, North Carolina one week after he pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and endangering his fellow troops.
The hearing ended after an hour after the judge, Army Colonel Jeffery Nance, heard a motion by Bergdahl’s lawyer that Trump’s attacks on Bergdahl meant he could not receive a fair sentence. Nance will review the motion and give his decision when the hearing resumes tomorrow. There was no indication how the court would treat Bergdahl, who gained his freedom in a 2014 prisoner swap with the Taleban and is said to suffer lasting nerve and psychological damage after brutal treatment and isolation by his captors, the notorious Taleban-allied, Pakistan-based Haqqani group.
His guilty plea was not part of any negotiated sentencing deal, leaving Nance full latitude to decide Bergdahl’s punishment. The desertion charge carries a maximum five years in prison but the second charge of endangering fellow troops, also known as “misbehaving before the enemy”, can mean up to life in prison. The sentencing hearing is expected to hear the testimony of two soldiers injured in missions to find and free him.
Nance allowed the attorneys to question him about whether he was swayed by Trump’s comments. Nance said he wasn’t aware of the comments beyond what was in the legal motions. Nance said he plans to retire as a colonel in about a year and isn’t motivated by pleasing commanders to win a future promotion. “I don’t have any doubt whatsoever that I can be fair and impartial in the sentencing in this matter,” Nance said. But he had stern words and pointed questions for prosecutors about what effect Trump’s comments would have on public perception of the case. He indicated he would issue a written ruling later on the defense request to have the case thrown out over Trump’s comments.
But Bergdahl could also go free if the judge accepts his explanation he had left his remote Afghanistan post in 2009 in a misguided attempt to report internal problems in his unit to superiors at another base. He could also be influenced by testimony from the head of the army’s investigation, Major General Kenneth Dahl, that Bergdahl may have been delusional. Dahl told a military court in Sept 2015 that putting Bergdahl in prison after all he had been through would be “inappropriate”.
The case has been swamped in politics