GOP pushes against potential Bergdahl pardon

Twenty-eight House Republicans are pushing President Obama to reject Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s request for a pardon.

“The men and women of our armed forces put their lives in harm’s way each and every day,” they wrote Thursday in a letter to Obama. “Pardoning Mr. Bergdahl would send entirely the wrong message to our nation’s service members.”

The letter was led by Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.).

The letter follows a similar one sent by Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and a statement from Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) earlier in the week.

Bergdahl is set to face a court martial in April on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009. He was captured by the Taliban and held until a 2014 prisoner swap. The charge of misbehavior before the enemy carries the potential sentence of life in prison.

He reportedly submitted clemency applications to the White House, Justice Department and Pentagon after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

Over the course of the campaign, Trump repeatedly used Bergdahl as a foil to argue that America has become weak.

“We’re tired of Sgt. Bergdahl, who’s a traitor, a no-good traitor, who should have been executed,” Trump said at a rally in October 2015. “Thirty years ago, he would have been shot.”

Bergdahl’s lead attorney previously said he would file a motion in January once Trump takes over as commander in chief asking for the case to be dismissed. The lawyer, Eugene Fidell, argued that Trump’s comments compromise his client’s rights to a fair trial and impartial jury.

In their letter, the lawmakers said “every indication” is that the court martial process has so far been fair.

“When Sgt. Bergdahl faces trial next year, he will be entitled to the full procedural rights afforded members of our armed services, including a presumption of innocence, the right to confront his accusers, the right to counsel and the requirement that his guilt be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” they wrote. “Under these circumstances, his guilt or innocence will be properly ascertained.”

They also argued pardoning Bergdahl could undermine the military justice system’s role in maintaining order. 

“Military justice also serves to maintain good order and discipline throughout the armed forces, a vital interest to our national defense,” they wrote. “To that end, pardoning Sergeant Bergdahl would undermine a functioning military process and could have a lasting and deleterious effect on our force.”