Bergdahl appeals court-martial over Trump, McCain comments

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


REBECCA BOONE,
Associated Press
March 2, 2021
Updated: March 2, 2021 11:11 a.m.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A former U.S. Army soldier who was court martialed after he left his post in Afghanistan and was captured by the Taliban is asking a federal judge to overturn his military conviction, saying his trial was unduly influenced when former President Donald Trump repeatedly made disparaging comments about him and called for his execution.

Bowe Bergdahl filed the complaint in federal court in Washington, D.C. last month, asking a judge to overturn his court martial conviction. Bergdahl says Trump's statements and actions by the late U.S. Sen. John McCain and his military judge violated his Fifth Amendment right to a fair trial.

“The scandalous meddling in a specific case by leaders of the political branches — one of whom was Commander in Chief of the armed forces — would never be tolerated if the proceeding had been a criminal prosecution in this or any other federal district court and should not be tolerated in a court-martial,” Bergdahl’s attorneys wrote in the court filing.

Bergdahl was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after the then-23-year-old from Hailey, Idaho, left his his post in Afghanistan in 2009. The soldier maintained he was trying to get outside his post so he could report what he saw as poor leadership within his unit, but he was abducted by the Taliban and held captive for nearly five years.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Bergdahl-appeals-court-martial-over-Trump-McCain-15993313.php

[keithbvadu2]

1. Republicans Frantically Scrub Their Praise Of Bowe Bergdahl (2014)

Republicans Frantically Scrub Their Praise Of Bowe Bergdahl (2014)

Terry called Bergdahl a “national hero.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/republicans-delete-praise-of-bergdahl

[TomSlick]

2. The article is far from clear but

if, as it appears, the Complaint was filed in federal district court, I will be shocked if the Complaint survives a motion to dismiss.

The civilian courts will almost always defer to the military court system - the final steps of which are the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAFF), which has civilian judges, and a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I assume that unlawful command influence was raised at the court-martial and at least the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and a petition for review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The Army Court and CAFF have a long history of taking unlawful command influence very seriously.

The conviction is res judicata and likely unassailable in the district court.