Army Bob: Will Obama pardon Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl?

Will President Obama pardon Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl? A definition of the full expanse of the law governing a pardon:

“A president or governor may grant a full (unconditional) pardon or a conditional pardon. The granting of an unconditional pardon fully restores an individual’s civil rights forfeited upon conviction of a crime and restores the person’s innocence as though he or she had never committed a crime. This means that a recipient of a pardon may regain the right to vote and to hold various positions of public trust.”

If President Obama issues Sgt. Bergdahl a conditional pardon that ensures he is not honorably discharged, that would be acceptable, but an unconditional pardon would be a travesty of justice.

The first column I penned in this august newspaper over two and a half years ago was concerning Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Sgt. Bergdahl, then a captive of the Taliban in Afghanistan, was traded for five high-ranking Islamic terrorists, part of President Obama’s plan to close the terrorist detention facility located at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and convince the Taliban to love us.

In that column, I noted that it was past time to be done with Sgt. Bergdahl, give him an “other than honorable” discharge, a Bad Conduct Discharge, a Dishonorable discharge, even a General Discharge, but my Army needs to be done with this person. Fast forward going on three years and he is still being paid, fed, housed and treated as an honorable member of our Armed Forces.

Now we hear he has requested a presidential pardon for his two major felonies. Sgt. Bergdahl’s attorneys cite President-elect Trump’s condemnation of their client’s actions as undue command influence on a Court Martial Board. President Obama hugging Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl in the Rose Garden was not? In the pardon request he heaps praise on President Obama almost to adoration. If President Obama issues a full pardon, then legally the crimes were never committed. Sgt. Bergdahl then must receive an honorable discharge — that my friends would be a crime in itself.

I do not give a damn if he never spends a day in confinement, but for a coward who deserted his post and comrades in arms in a combat zone to receive the same honors and benefits as the thousands of brave Americans I served with is just plain old fashioned wrong. To see him buried with full military honors and be treated at Veterans Administration facilities would be an insult to my parents, both veterans, my in-laws, both veterans and the 21.3 million living honorably discharged veterans.

The General Court Martial of Sgt. Bergdahl should have been over and done with within six months of his release. We are now looking at five times that amount of time. The military justice system is fair, fast and honest; something is badly wrong in this case with the system. If we discover President Obama has influenced the military judicial system to postpone Sgt. Bergdahl’s court martial to pardon him, that would taint the president’s coveted legacy. Not that he would much care; the President felt he would be cheered by the American people for the prisoner swap and was shocked that most Americans were, let’s say, less than pleased that five stone-cold killers were freed in exchange for a coward.

Most Americans on the left side of the political aisle would cheer military deserters, but the majority of Americans honor those who served and are not pleased with Sgt. Bergdahl’s deplorable and irredeemable actions.

Let’s be done with this person and open a slot for an honorable American warrior to enlist and rise to the prestigious rank of sergeant. Court martial him, convict him if guilty, and discharge him other than honorably. We need to wash out this stain on the honor of millions of brave Americans who served our nation with dignity, élan and dedication.