Military courts are very sensitive to ensure that there is no pressure from the chain of command. During the campaign, Trump called, as I recall, for the death penalty. OK, he’s a candidate, not president. Within the past few days, with regard to Bergdahl’s sentencing, he said something like, “well, you know how I feel”, referring to his campaign statement. So now, we’ve got the Commander-in-Chief weighing in on the sentencing. That’s the C-in-C possibly influencing the court’s sentencing.
While I suspect that a stiffer sentence could have been imposed while maintain independence from influence from the chain of command, Trump, as president, should have simply kept his mouth shut or should have said something to the effect that he had complete confidence in the court to impose a suitable sentence, given its knowledge of the particulars of the case.
As private citizens, we have considerable leeway in our statements. Like it or not, a president must be considerably more circumspect.
I hate to say it, but you can blame this light sentence on Trump.
Oh, yeah, blame it on Trump. Like everything else. Idiot.
Nonsense, IMO. Our justice system is already screwed up, and now our Military “Justice” system has been thoroughly compromised, particularly over the last 8 years.
You can blame lawyers nonsensical bullshit over the last 60 years as the reason this bastard walked, and more to the point, we can blame ourselves for letting our justice system and military be compromised to the absurd condition they are in today.
We have allowed, and continue to allow, this situation to fester over the decades and we are getting what we deserve.
I call BS on your statement, bagman.
Right from the gitgo it was obvious that Obama was going to let this guy go free. The Judge in the case was hand picked by Obama partisans with the express intent of finding Bergdahl innocent so the fix has been in since day one
The military did everything they could to bring the guy to justice but you can't beat a corrupt judge when he is the one making the decision
I knew the fix was in when he pleaded guilty to avoid having any of the evidence against him exposed in public.
If the American public knew what he had done the judge would have been under enormous public pressure to throw the book at him
Not sure the Obama team prosecution team was all that hot convict the guy anyway
Sometimes the abject unfairness of a horrible decision creates a blowback. One way this could happen is if someone leaks the true details of the Bergdahl case to the public and let's public opinion take its course
As it is, the historical record on of the Obama Admin is going to be favoring traitors, perverts and criminals while persecuting and prosecuting good men and women