Bergdahl's attorney: Trump's comments threaten fair trial
The attorney for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for five years, says the comments made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about Bergdahl could threaten the soldier's right to a fair trial.
During a town hall meeting Wednesday in New Hampshire, Trump called Bergdahl, a "dirty, rotten traitor."
Trump said, “We get a traitor named Bergdahl, a dirty, rotten traitor, who, by the way, when he deserted, six young, beautiful people were killed trying to find him.”
In exchange, Trump said, the enemy got “five of the people they wanted, five killers back on the battlefield. That’s the kind of deals we make.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has made such remarks about Bergdahl, said Eugene Fidell, the soldier’s defense attorney, in a statement Thursday. He made a similar remark at the first Republican candidates’ debate as well, Fidell said.
“This is the lowest kind of demagoguery,” he said. “Mr. Trump’s comments are contemptible and un-American. They are a call for mob justice.”
Bergdahl disappeared from Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on June 30, 2009. He has been accused of leaving his patrol base alone and intentionally before he was captured by Taliban insurgents.
He spent five years as a captive under the Taliban before he was freed in a controversial May 31, 2014, prisoner swap that also freed five Taliban leaders from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Bergdahl is now assigned to a desk job at U.S. Army North at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
He was charged March 25 with one count of desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty, and one count of misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.
The Article 32 investigation, or preliminary hearing, into his case is scheduled to start Sept. 17. The Article 32 will determine whether there is enough evidence to merit a court-martial and is often compared to a civilian grand jury inquiry.
Bergdahl cannot speak out in his own defense as he is pending the Article 32, Fidell said.
“Nor, as a practical matter, is he in a position, for the moment, to bring the defamation lawsuit Mr. Trump richly deserves,” he said.
Trump’s remarks “directly threaten” Bergdahl’s right to a fair trial, Fidell said.
In addition, Bergdahl is not charged with treason or anything like it, the lawyer said.
“Treason — the only crime described in the Constitution — has a unique stigma,” Fidell said. “I condemn Mr. Trump’s reckless disregard for the truth. He should be ashamed of himself.”
Fidell also disputed Trump’s claim that six soldiers died searching for Bergdahl.
“The Army’s prosecutors, who have the vast resources of the government at their disposal, have informed us that they will not be offering evidence that anyone died searching for my client,” Fidell said. “I call on the Secretary of the Army to put this false and damaging rumor to rest once and for all.”
Fidell, who described Trump’s comments as “outrageous,” said Bergdahl’s defense team will continue to monitor the presidential candidate’s remarks.
“No American should have to put up with this kind of unprincipled behavior, especially from a person seeking public office,” Fidell said. “Mr. Trump must stop vilifying this young man, who suffered five years of brutal captivity at the hands of the Taliban and deserves to be judged on the basis of evidence rather than slander from someone who has never worn our country’s uniform.”