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Report: Bergdahl to be charged with desertion

By Fred Jackson, OneNewsNow.com January 27, 2015 12:25 pm


There are reports this morning that the U.S. Army has now decided to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion.

Last night, retired Lt. Colonel Tony Shaffer told Bill O'Reilly on 'The O'Reilly Factor' on Fox News that Bergdahl, who was released by the Taliban last year in exchange for five terrorists, will face desertion charges.

Shaffer says two separate military sources have told him that Bergdahl's attorney has been given what's called a "charge sheet" which outlines the articles of the Uniform Military Code of Justice that have been violated.

President Obama has been sharply criticized for handing over the terrorists in exchange for Bergdahl. Some of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers in Afghanistan says he willingly walked away from his unit.

And then after that initial new release was made..
"However, senior Army and defense officials contacted by Reuters could not confirm the report.

The officer in charge of the case, General Mark Milley, is reviewing facts and findings submitted by Army investigators last month and has not publicly said whether he will file charges, said spokesman Jim Hinnant. Milley heads the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based U.S. Forces Command."

So who knows is the decision made and someone had inside info?
Or is someone guessing and making it sound like they know more than they do?

I would not count on a court martial until it has happened and completed, because it can be Stopped at any point with the waive of a hand.
I would not count on a conviction until at least after the current POTUS has been removed from office (post Presidential pardon time frame) and of appeals are exhausted.

I think the investigation found the guy is a deserter and the generals and president's administration are considering the political ramifications. Wouldn't surprise me either way but I'll be very disappointed if he isn't charged.

E.Marquez wrote:And then after that initial new release was made..
"However, senior Army and defense officials contacted by Reuters could not confirm the report.

The officer in charge of the case, General Mark Milley, is reviewing facts and findings submitted by Army investigators last month and has not publicly said whether he will file charges, said spokesman Jim Hinnant. Milley heads the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based U.S. Forces Command."

So who knows is the decision made and someone had inside info?
Or is someone guessing and making it sound like they know more than they do?

I would not count on a court martial until it has happened and completed, because it can be Stopped at any point with the waive of a hand.
I would not count on a conviction until at least after the current POTUS has been removed from office (post Presidential pardon time frame) and of appeals are exhausted.

It wouldn't surprise me if the guy was found hanging by his bedsheets in his cell before an official decision was made.

From: Army Times

The Army says there is no truth to media reports claiming a decision has been made to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion.

The Army continues to review the case against Bergdahl, said Paul Boyce, a spokesman for Forces Command, on Tuesday morning.

"Sgt. Bergdahl has not been charged with any crime," said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

"No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sgt. Bergdahl," Kirby said. "None. There is no timeline to make that decision, and Gen. [Mark] Milley is being put under no pressure to make a decision."

In a report Monday citing two anonymous military sources, retired Lt. Col. Tony Schaffer told Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" that the Army plans to charge Bergdahl with desertion. Schaffer also told the outlet his sources confirmed to him that Bergdahl's lawyer has been given a charge sheet.

No charge sheets were available Tuesday, and Boyce said he is unaware of any charge sheets being issued against Bergdahl, adding that the Fox News story "seems to be speculative in nature." Bergdahl's attorney Eugene Fidell declined to comment. NBC News, citing an anonymous senior defense official, is also reporting a desertion charge is coming, possibly within the week.

Milley, commanding general of Forces Command, "is reviewing now the Army's facts and findings to determine, impartially, any appropriate next steps and possible actions," Boyce said.

Milley is "actively reviewing the case," he said. "No decision's been made."

There is no timeline for when Milley must make a decision.

Milley received the Army's investigationBergdahl, 28, disappeared from Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on June 30, 2009.

He spent five years as a captive under the Taliban before he was freed in a May 31 prisoner swap that also freed five Taliban leaders from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He is now assigned to a desk job at U.S. Army North at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, while he awaits the outcome of the Army's review.

The Army has declined to release any details of the six-month investigation into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

Then-Spc. Bergdahl was accused of leaving his patrol base alone and intentionally before he was captured by Taliban insurgents in 2009.

A prior investigation of Bergdahl's disappearance — conducted in 2009 long before his return — found that some members of his unit believed Bergdahl left his patrol base alone at night at least once before and returned safely.

As the general court-martial convening authority, Milley has several courses of action, from no further action against Bergdahl to court-martial.

The case presents a challenge for the Army's leadership, which has to decide whether to punish a soldier who spent five years as a prisoner of war or essentially overlook the allegations of misconduct that surrounded his disappearance. Dec. 22, Boyce said.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military ... /22396367/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This says a lot to me.

The case presents a challenge for the Army's leadership, which has to decide whether to punish a soldier who spent five years as a prisoner of war or essentially overlook the allegations of misconduct that surrounded his disappearance. Dec. 22, Boyce said.

Will they say he's been punished enough and move on? Politically speaking, it would be best for the administration if this ordeal would just quietly die out and go away.

Well, this time it's apparently confirmed: Army charges Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior

Further:

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki defended the White House’s prisoner exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on Wednesday, just hours after the Army announced that it would charge him with desertion.

“Was it worth it? Absolutely,” she said on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” in an interview that will air Wednesday night.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... p-worth-it" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

She says, knowing this:
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night