Bergdahl asks Obama for pardon
Last month, the New York Times pleaded Bowe Bergdahl’s case for a pardon from President Obama because of President-elect Trump’s undue command influence in the case of the traitor who wandered off from his post into the waiting arms of the Haqqani network. According to the New York Times, Bergdahl’s lawyers have made the formal request to the President.
Eugene R. Fidell, […] Bergdahl’s lead defense lawyer, declined to comment on the pardon petition. But if the case is still pending on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, he said, he will file a motion to have it dismissed, arguing that a fair military trial will be impossible after Mr. Trump becomes the commander in chief.
[…]
“I have grave concerns as to whether […] Bergdahl can receive a fair trial given the beating he has taken over many months from Mr. Trump, who will be commander in chief, as well as Senator McCain’s call for a hearing in case […] Bergdahl is not punished,” Mr. Fidell said. “It is really most unfair.”
Ya know what else is unfair? The fact that a guy whose selfish lack of concern for his fellow soldiers caused their deaths and injuries while they tried to rescue him from himself. They deserve justice, too.
Category: Army News
FUCK NO! There’s a cell at Leavenworth waiting for his dumb ass.
Or better yet, a rope or a firing squad! Men were killed looking for that worthless turd!
Senior, I’m right there with you. Fuck that little weasel prick.
NO, NO, NO, and NO!
Ok, keep him locked up until Trump is no longer CIC, then try him and hang him.
I can wait.
But…but…but…Lars Poodledick, all seeing and all knowing, said Obama can’t grant him a pardon!
And Larsie would NEVER be wrong, would he?
(Yes, kids. That was sarcasm.)
Oh, and Bergdahl? Yeah, no. Fuck no. Nice try, fucker.
Make Bergeahl and Manning cell mates and they can fight over which one gets to catch on any given night.
So Barry can preemptively pardon a person who has yet to be convicted of a crime? Or just, as CINC, order all charges be dropped? This after the five swapped GITMO prisoners are living large in Qatar (one is suspected of having returning to his old terror pals)? That would certainly put a high gloss on the steaming pile that is his “legacy.”
The presidential pardon does not require a conviction, or even a known accusation. The only limit is that it can’t undo impeachment. Numerous SCOTUS rulings essentially say “no limit but that one specified bit”.
Also settled law: accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt.
So if he did, the families of the men he got killed or dinged up could then sue the shit out of him?
Still waiting for you to answer CB Seniors question from this past Friday.
I’ll jog your memory. It was on the thread about the retired Marine who turned his kid in.
Two serious questions, for our lawyer commenters:
1. Does requesting a pardon constitute a legal admission of guilt? Seems to me that it should, since acceptance of a pardon has been held by the courts to constitute an admission of guilt.
2. If the answer to 1. is yes, can that fact be used as evidence at court-martial?
Oh, and forgive me – I forgot the most important part:
Buck Fergdahl.
Not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (no, really–I did.)
I don’t think it would be any more an admission of guilt much like there was no admission of guilt (or charges, or trial) when Ford pardoned Nixon. I’m thinking that’s a preemptive move, of sorts, in case Bergdahl ever makes it to court martial, which at this rate, he’ll die of old age before he’s even sentenced.
Well, one might hypothetically say “Please pardon me” without specifying the deed. The president can certainly issue a blanket any-and-all-crimes pardon without listing the details.
And if it was actually your lawyer or other spokesperson making the request….
Hondo,
Ive not seen anything that addresses the question I put out in response to the previous Bergdahl-wants-a-pardon piece. I’m especially curious now and have restated it below.
If a pardon were issued in advance, thereby precluding a court-martial, how would that affect discharge options?
As I said in reply on the other thread: one of our military lawyer commenters will have to answer that question. I have no idea, and I don’t think the situation (person facing court-martial receiving a preemptive pardon) has occurred before, at least not since World War II.
The matter of a pardon is anything but crystal clear. There are conditional and full pardons and there are accepted and rejected pardons. Perhaps the biggest issue attendant to the issue of pardons comes up when the pardon is granted before a conviction. It is much easier to deal with post-conviction pardons and there is relatively much more (although alone scant) certain legal opinion arising from post-conviction pardons than pre-trial/pre-conviction pardons. For instance, with a post-conviction pardon, the conviction stands for it is a fact but the punishment that would be or has been doled out is erased. When a person is pardoned before conviction, there is no fact of conviction and, thus, no punishment. The pardon murkiness, in my view, stems from the notion that acceptance of a pardon is necessarily an admission of guilt. This is not a settled issue as it pertains to pre-conviction pardons. There is only dicta and implication or inference that it does. There is an equally strong argument that holds that it does not. I am no UCMJ guy but I do see that the UCMJ does not speak to pre-conviction pardons. The language assumes that there has been a conviction. (e.g., “The pardon signifies forgiveness of an offense. However, a pardon will not change the nature of a discharge or expunge a record of conviction.”)
In my view, Hondo, your question cannot be definitively answered because there is no case, controlling or persuasive, that speaks specifically to it. We could all have a good go-round on the matter but, in the end, it will go unresolved.
FUCK. NO.
I am not going to comment on the legal issues ’cause I was not a criminal “lawer.” But I love this photo Jonn always uses for Bergboi. They both have looks on their faces like they have just engaged in some serious manlove.
This is like the second time Jonn has posted that pic on a day that isn’t, “Man Love Thursday.”
Bergboi was the “fat bottomed boy”…
Looks like a ventriloquist and his dummy.
That’s got to be the upcoming cover photo for Bergdahl’s book (you know he’s going to write one). It will be titled “Endless Manlove Thursday: My Five Years With the Taliban”.
If illary gets a pardon, why not this turd sandwich. I would make the following conditions. He gets a General discharge and can claim only $50K of his back pay.
If he doesn’t like that, let’s go to trial for a dishonorable discharge.
If it were me, I would take the $50K and try and fade away.
I like reduction in rate to E-1 and forfeiture of all pay and allowances, with hard time, a DD, and AMF.
……..and forfeiture of proceeds from any book or movie deals.
Screw him, his phony E-5 stripes, CIB, and Good Conduct ribbon!
Mattis is going to knife hand him personally. Be scared, bitch.
I’m still hoping for the gallows and well deserved it will be. Bag over head, noose around neck, reading of the sentence, plus a kick in the nads (just to take him off guard) and then pull the lever. If they are looking for volunteers, I am available.
I’ve said it before, Obama won’t pardon him. The ego won’t allow for him to take more political flak. He’s already taken a beating about the Susan Rice flubbing of both him and Hillary.
His ego is very delicate, just as much as I’m sure he didn’t want to hear from anyone about how much of a piece of shit Bergdahl was before he did the meet the parents skit.
Okay, let me see if I get this. A presidential candidate makes comments that a Soldier that deserted his post in a combat zone is undue command influence, despite the candidate not commanding any troops, but the President of The United States says that the same Soldier served with “honor and distinction” is not undue command influence. Thanks for clearing that up for this Deplorable.
Some animals are more equal than other animals. – George Orwell.
I hope Bernath wrote that request to Muslim and chief.
Logically: Trump made the comment before he was in a command position. He has not been sworn in, so he has no command influence. Moot point.
However, regardless of whether Bergdahl has stood trial, Obama can pardon him just because it is a day ending with Y with no further comment and no reason given. Am I understanding this correctly?
Shitbag maggot.
To hell with this dude.
From your lips to God’s ears, GT.
I don’t think bodaprez will pardon the creature known as bergdahl. He has no interest in doing anything except packing up and getting out of WDC to go play golf forever on the shores of the Kilauea volcano.
Even if he did agree to a pardon, all he has to do is delay issuing it by sneezing and coughing and wrapping himself in warm blankies, until Dec. 19, and I really do believe he will blow town on that day.
December 19th, or January 19th? If it’s the former, the only connection I’m making is to surgery I’m having that day… I’d gladly go under the knife though to get him out of office faster!
Try him and Fry him.
Can we just send him back? Nothing -we- do would be quite as … disturbing … as what -they- will do.
What a stupid fucking idea. Wait until post 20 Jan 2017 and pose the question to the CinC.
Why would such an idea even be considered. I know CHrist said we are to forgive but he didn’t say anything forget. I can forgive but will never forget. I agree with other comments that the best thing would be to send his ass back to the sand box where he must really want to be. If our current pretend CinC were to pardon this freak either one of two things will happen, he will die or he will participate or even design a terrorist attack on our country.
Buh-rock will pardon this steaming bag of dicks, just so he stick his finger in the military’s eye once again. That’s just the way he is.
I agree, he has the same hatred for the military as Hildy’s beard, the lovable Billy Jeff.
Cocksucker.
I told you all what was coming down the pike.
Presidential pardon stops the criminal process, but can the parents/spouse/children of one of those killed in looking for him file a civil wrongful death suit to recoup monetary damages.
Yes, assuming that they could bring such an action at all.
Assuming they could sue a soldier for on active duty conduct for wrongful death, I would think the families’ attorneys would have a hard time establishing the element of proximate or legal causation. Bergdahl’s situation looks like a classic causation issue like the old Palzgraf case. All you real “lawers” should remember that one from your Torts class.
I thought he was asking only about the effect of a pardon on a possible civil action. Since a pardon would be no bar, I said yes. I doubt that such an action would be successful, for any number of reasons. Palzgraf? My favorite Torts case stood for an entirely proposition: mutual mistake. “Oh, you meant THAT Peerless? Shit! I meant the other one!”
“Peerless,” that is classic. Isn’t it amazing we can remember those cases, after all these years. I still remember my Contracts prof trying to make a classroom deal with me, and everyone else he called on, to buy his old car he named “Killer.”
Bowe Bergdahl should have been just a stain on the upholstery of a beat up run down van behind some hippie hangout.
Ol’ Dog’s Crystal ball says neither Obama or Trump will stick their nose in the matter.
Bergdahl will be found guilty of desertion, but not of willful collaboration.
He will be reduced, fined and given a Dishonorable discharge.
Citing his imprisonment and treatment at the hands of the Taliban he will receive ZERO time incarcerated.
He will get another 15 minutes of fame on talk shows and perhaps have a book and movie deal.
This is fortold by the Ol’ Dog.
I really hope this pos gets convicted and hung! He should pay for the lives of the men he killed by deserting! I hope he gets the long dick of Satan up his ass the hard way!
The only pardon that this piece of shit needs to ask for is for the forgiveness of the families of the men that died while looking for this shitbag, as well as the men who were wounded while he went for his “hike”. He should ask for their forgiveness as they place the blindfold on him and attach a piece of paper in front of his heart and let the firing squad do its job. But that would never happen- the military switched to lethal injection, and they don’t execute anyone anyway. I’m tired of the Army refusing to dole out capital punishment. There are military prisoners sitting on death row from the 80s who know they will die of old age in prison. Hasan Akbar murdered soldiers in 2003 and he’s been breathing in prison for 13 years. Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, murdered soldiers in cold blood and gets to chill in his wheelchair while getting medical care and pain medication- his life is so horrible that his only complaint is he can’t grow a beard. Sentencing the perpetrators of the Mahmudiyah rape and murders to decades in prison was a joke. Letting Bales cop a plea to take the death penalty off the table after murdering 16 Afghans was a joke. The soldiers who actually pulled the triggers in the “kill squad” from the Maiwand district murders getting 7 or 10 years? Or SSG Gibbs getting life in prison WITH the possibility of parole after ten years? What a joke. And Manning- that fucking treasonous snake- grinds my gears most of all. It boils my blood to know that not only is the military going to let him live, and even let him out of prison someday- they are going to pay tons of money to have his dick turned inside out. Meanwhile, my 90% service-connected ass can’t get the proper healthcare I need, and literally hundreds of phone calls to various VA offices go unanswered. No voicemails or emails are ever returned. I’ve been told by the VA that I can’t get a particular medication… Read more »