Republican congressmen are urging President Obama to reject Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s request for a pardon.
“Desertion and misbehavior before the enemy are extremely serious charges,” Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) wrote in a letter to the president Tuesday.
“A pre-emptive pardon for Bowe Bergdahl would seriously undermine the military-court martial process and send the wrong message to hundreds of thousands of men and women in uniform who have served honorably in combat.”
{mosads}Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) similarly released a statement Tuesday opposing a pardon.
“It has been seven years since Sgt. Bergdahl chose to abandon his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan during a time of war,” Buchanan said. “He should be court-martialed and held accountable.”
Bergdahl is set to face a court-martial in April on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009. He was captured by the Taliban and held until a 2014 prisoner swap with the United States. The charge of misbehavior before the enemy carries the potential sentence of life in prison.
He reportedly submitted clemency applications to the White House, Justice Department and Pentagon after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Over the course of the campaign, Trump repeatedly used Bergdahl as a foil to make his case that America has become weak.
“We’re tired of Sgt. Bergdahl, who’s a traitor, a no-good traitor, who should have been executed,” Trump said at a rally in October 2015. “Thirty years ago, he would have been shot.”
Bergdahl’s lead attorney previously said he would file a motion in January once Trump takes over as commander in chief asking for the case to be dismissed. The lawyer, Eugene Fidell, argued that Trump’s comments compromise his client’s rights to a fair trial and impartial jury.
In his letter, Coffman said pardoning Bergdahl would set a bad precedent.
“The Uniform Code of Military Justice and the military court-martial process are essential to maintaining good order and discipline within the U.S. military, especially during a time of war,” he wrote. “His actions must be judged the by the pending court-martial.”
Bergdahl’s lawyers are also separately seeking to get the case dismissed over comment made by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee who has promised to hold a hearing if Bergdahl avoids punishment.
A military judge ruled in September against dismissing the case because of McCain’s comment. Bergdahl’s lawyers have appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.