Judge calls Trump's comments on Bowe Bergdahl 'disturbing'

Bowe Bergdahl.
(Image credit: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

During a pretrial hearing Monday, a military judge called harsh comments President Trump made about Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl while campaigning "disturbing."

Bergdahl walked away from his post in Afghanistan in 2009, and has said he did so because he wanted to bring attention to what he saw as problems with his unit. He was held captive by the Taliban before being exchanged for five of the militant group's prisoners in May 2014. During the hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, defense attorneys played a five-minute video that showed Trump calling Bergdahl a "traitor," a "no-good traitor," and other names more than 40 times. They argued that Bergdahl's due-process rights have been violated and the case should be dismissed, The Associated Press reports. The judge, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, called the video "disturbing material," and is expected to soon release his written decision on the defense's request.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.