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.
Prosecutors say that Trump only made his comments as a way to "attack a political opponent for political gain," but Bergdahl's defense attorney, Eugene Fidell, said that because Trump has kept other campaign promises, what he said on the trail must not be waved away as rhetoric. An Idaho native, Bergdahl is now working a desk job at an army base in Texas, and is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
