Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion

[Peter1469]

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion - by the Taliban

They will soon file an extradition request with the United States through Swiss intermediaries.

QUETTA, PAKISTAN – Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl may be innocent of desertion as far as the U.S. Army is concerned, but in recent days the ex-prisoner of war now faces the same charges from the most unlikely direction: his former captors.


Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has announced that the insurgent group, following its own internal investigation, would be charging Bergdahl with deserting his post — a crime punishable by death, public flogging, or lengthy imprisonment, although typically not in that order.


“We are investigating the incident where Brother [Bergdahl] may — and I stress this is not definite — may have walked off his post without his AK-47,” Zabihullah said in an interview with Al Jazeera.


Read more: http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/11/ta...#ixzz3NiWkFz7E

[Don]

Yeah, but he's got his P.O.W. Medal, $#@!es!

http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/06/bo...ahl-pow-medal/

[PolWatch]

ah, its true...the world is an asylum and the inmates are in charge

[del]

that's a funny site

[Howey]

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion - by the Taliban

They will soon file an extradition request with the United States though Swiss intermediaries.

Lol. You know there are some who would believe that right? I'm borrowing it.

[Crepitus]

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion - by the Taliban

They will soon file an extradition request with the United States though Swiss intermediaries.

I lost it at "although typically not in that order". Lofl

[PolWatch]

you need to go back to the blog & read the item on the POW medal...its a hoot

[Private Pickle]

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion - by the Taliban

They will soon file an extradition request with the United States through Swiss intermediaries.

I bet they have a case...

[waltky]

Why is the prosecution being so timid?... Government Wants to Push Bergdahl Court-martial to May Oct 29, 2016 | The federal government would use the extension to conduct a review of documents provided by the National Security Council)

Prosecutors in the court-martial of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are asking to delay the trial date while they continue to gather 6,000 classified documents. In a motion filed Thursday, prosecutors asked for an extension to gather the documents, possibly invoke privilege and make them accessible to the defense. That could take until February, when the court-martial is scheduled to begin. Prosecutors have proposed the court-martial begin in May. Bergdahl is charged with desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. He walked off a remote post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was subsequently held by the Taliban for nearly five years. He was released in May 2014 in exchange for prisoners being held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Prosecutor Maj. Jerrod Fussnecker said the government has already made about 300,000 classified documents -- or about 1.3 million pages -- accessible to the defense. In a second round of reviewing documents, the government identified 35,000 additional documents to make available. Of those, they released about 20,000 documents and are in the process of releasing another 8,400. Fussnecker said the prosecutors need more time to gather the final 6,000 documents. Those documents are of secret and top secret clearances and need to be reviewed by their respective agencies to determine if privilege should be invoked.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, leaves a pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Claiming that privilege would require the government to retrieve the original classified documents from the agencies, write summaries of those documents, turn over the original and the summarized documents to the judge for comparison and, finally, turn over the summaries to the defense. According to the motion, the government anticipates four organizations will invoke privilege. The Department of State is the only organization of those four named by the government. Prosecutors said they don't believe the extension will significantly delay discovery in the case because the defense lawyers must still review the classified documents to which they already have access. "The government would use the extension to conduct review of documents that will be provided by the NSC (National Security Council)," according to the motion. "The government believes this additional time will also allow the defense to review the material already provided to it." The defense could not immediately be reached for comment on the proposed motion to delay the court-martial. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...rtial-may.html

[waltky]

Not likely to happen...

A Pardon for Bowe Bergdahl? Unlikely, Experts Say
Dec 13, 2016 | WASHINGTON -- Not only has Obama granted few pardons, he also has demonstrated no interest in meddling with the military justice system.

A presidential pardon to spare ex-Taliban captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from facing a court-martial on charges he deserted and endangered his fellow soldiers appears unlikely in the final weeks of President Barack Obama's tenure, according to experts.

Not only has Obama granted few pardons, the president also has demonstrated no interest in meddling with the military justice system in which Bergdahl has been entangled since his release in May 2014 by insurgents in Afghanistan, several experts on presidential pardons and military law told Stars and Stripes.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives for a pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Bergdahl, 30, has admitted to Army investigators that he willingly left his post in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009 and was quickly abducted by Taliban fighters. Last year, the Army charged him with "misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place" and "desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty." The more serious misbehavior charge carries a potential life sentence, if convicted. His trial is scheduled for April.

But because Bergdahl's court-martial will occur during the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, the soldier's attorneys have petitioned the White House for a pardon. Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl's lead lawyer, has said his client cannot receive a fair trial with Trump as commander in chief after the president-elect criticized Bergdahl on several occasions during the campaign. Trump referred to Bergdahl as a "no-good traitor" at nationally televised rallies and opined that he should have been executed. Fidell said he is preparing, if necessary, to file a motion to dismiss the case on the basis of Trump's comments soon after the Jan. 20 inauguration. Beyond that, Fidell has declined to discuss the pardon request.

Few pardons under Obama