Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban after abandoning his post in Afghanistan and then freed five years later in a controversial trade for five Guantanamo detainees, was charged Wednesday with desertion.
U.S. Army Forces Command announced the decision at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
He was charged with misbehavior before the enemy, which carries a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. He was also charged with desertion, which carries a maximum of five years.
B. Hussein Obama said Thursday he would make “absolutely no apologies” for ordering the illegal prisoner swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan.
Obama said he was never surprised by “controversies that are whipped up in Washington,” but deflected criticism from members of Congress and the military over the trade of five Guantánamo prisoners for Bergdahl, who has been accused of abandoning his post in Afghanistan before his capture.
Obama violated a “clear and unambiguous” law when he released five Guantanamo Bay terrorist in exchange for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the Government Accountability Office said.
Obama violated section 8111 because he did not notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the transfer,” the GAO report said. “In addition, because DOD used appropriated funds to carry out the transfer when no money was available for that purpose, DOD violated the Antideficiency Act. The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from incurring obligations exceeding an amount available in an appropriation.”
“Sgt. Robert Bowdrie (“Bowe”) Bergdahl remains assigned to and physically located with U.S. Army North headquarters at Fort Sam Houston.
