Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion, misbehavior

[Peter1469]

Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion, misbehavior

Desertion has a max of 5 years (outside of a declared war, which would be death).

Misbehavior before the enemy has a max of life.

He should get life.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge on Monday that he’s pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
“I understand that leaving was against the law,” Bergdahl said.




“At the time, I had no intention of causing search and recovery operations,” Bergdahl added, saying that now he does understand that his decision to walk off his remote post in Afghanistan in 2009 prompted efforts to find him.




Bergdahl, 31, is charged with endangering his comrades by walking away from his post. Despite his plea, the prosecution and defense have not agreed to a stipulation of facts in the case, according to one of his lawyers, Maj. Oren Gleich, which is an indication that they did not reach a deal to limit his punishment.

The misbehavior charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the desertion charge is punishable by up to five years. He appears to be hoping for leniency from the judge, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance.


The guilty pleas bring the highly politicized saga closer to an end eight years after his disappearance in Afghanistan set off search missions by scores of his fellow service members. President Barack Obama was criticized by Republicans for the 2014 Taliban prisoner swap that brought Bergdahl home, while President Donald Trump harshly criticized Bergdahl on the campaign trail.


The serious wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl are still expected to play a role in his sentencing. The guilty pleas allow him to avoid a trial, but he still faces a sentencing hearing that’s expected to start on Oct. 23. Bergdahl’s five years of captivity by the Taliban and its allies also will likely factor into what punishment he receives.


Bergdahl, who’s from Hailey, Idaho, previously chose to have his case heard by a judge alone, rather than a jury.


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Legal scholars have said that several pretrial rulings against the defense have given prosecutors leverage to pursue stiff punishment against Bergdahl. Perhaps most significant was the judge’s decision in June to allow evidence of serious wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl at the sentencing phase. The judge ruled that a Navy SEAL and an Army National Guard sergeant wouldn’t have wound up in separate firefights that left them wounded if they hadn’t been searching for Bergdahl.


The defense also was rebuffed in an effort to prove President Donald Trump had unfairly swayed the case with scathing criticism of Bergdahl, including suggestions of harsh punishment. The judge wrote in a February ruling that Trump’s campaign-trail comments were “disturbing and disappointing” but did not constitute unlawful command influence by the soon-to-be commander in chief.


Defense attorneys have acknowledged that Bergdahl walked off his base without authorization. Bergdahl himself told a general during a preliminary investigation that he left intending to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit. He was soon captured.


But the defense team has argued that Bergdahl can’t be held responsible for a long chain of events that included many decisions by others on how to conduct the searches.


The military probe of Bergdahl began soon after he was freed from captivity on May 31, 2014, in exchange for five Taliban prisoners. Facing Republican criticism, Obama noted that the U.S. doesn’t leave its service members behind.


Bergdahl has been assigned to desk duty at a Texas Army base while his case unfolds.

[Ethereal]

Meanwhile, the real criminals - the politicians and government officials who started these endless, fraudulent wars - remain free.

[Cletus]

Bergdahl abandoned the mission and put his fellow soldiers at risk. He is the criminal here.

[jimmyz]

He and the Tranny traitor deserve no mercy. One got some from Obama and I will wait to see what happens to Bo.

[resister]

Bergdahl abandoned the mission and put his fellow soldiers at risk. He is the criminal here.

He is a lefty hero, worth 5 terrorist.

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - sentence him to hard labor an' feed him on scant fare o' bread an' water...

Bergdahl Could Get Life in Prison for Endangering Comrades
23 Oct 2017 | Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will appear Monday before a military judge who will determine his punishment for walking off his post.

Before delivering his sentence, the judge will have to resolve a last-minute defense argument that new comments by President Donald Trump have tainted the case. Bergdahl faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty last week to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Prosecutors made no deal to cap his punishment, so the judge has wide leeway to decide his sentence after a hearing expected to take several days. The judge, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance, is expected to weigh factors including Bergdahl's willingness to admit guilt, his five years of captivity in the hands of the Taliban and its allies, and the serious wounds that several service members suffered while searching for him.

Prosecutors are expected to put on evidence or testimony about soldiers and a Navy SEAL who were seriously wounded by gunfire during these search missions, including an Army National Guard sergeant who was shot in the head, suffering a traumatic brain injury that put him in a wheelchair, unable to speak. Bergdahl, 31, from Hailey, Idaho, was captured soon after walking off his remote post in 2009. He has said he was caged, kept in darkness and beaten, and tried to escape more than a dozen times. He said his intention had been to alert other commanders to what he saw as problems with his unit. Still, when he pleaded guilty, he told the judge that his actions were inexcusable.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, arrives for a motions hearing Oct. 16, 2017, on Fort Bragg, N.C.

President Barack Obama brought Bergdahl home in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, saying the U.S. does not leave its service members on the battlefield. Republicans roundly criticized Obama, and Trump went further while campaigning for president, repeatedly calling Bergdahl a "dirty, rotten traitor" who deserved to be executed by firing squad or thrown out of a plane without a parachute. Nance ruled in February that those campaign statements were "disturbing and disappointing," but didn't amount to unlawful command influence, noting that Trump made the comments before he became president.

Defense lawyers argued last week that Trump's views haven't changed as commander in chief, citing his reaction to Bergdahl's guilty plea. Trump told reporters he couldn't say anything more about the case, "but I think people have heard my comments in the past." The White House issued a statement Friday that, without mentioning Bergdahl by name, said any military justice case must be "resolved on its own facts." Prosecutors cited that statement in opposing the latest defense arguments.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...-comrades.html

[Peter1469]

I bet he gets 5 years.

[gamewell45]

I bet he gets 5 years.

Rank reduction as well?

[Peter1469]

Rank reduction as well?

Yes, dishonorable discharge

[The Xl]

Meanwhile, the real criminals - the politicians and government officials who started these endless, fraudulent wars - remain free.

/Thread.