Trumps comments about Bergdahl 'disturbing,' judge says

[HAB911]

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Disparaging remarks made by President Donald Trump on the campaign trail and levied against accused Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are “disturbing,” the military judge overseeing the soldier’s court-martial said Monday.

The judge, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance, was especially concerned about Trump’s 2015 pledge to review the case if he was elected president. Such a comment, Nance said, has the potential to put a “black eye” on the public’s confidence in the court-martial process.

Nance must determine whether some 60 derogatory comments made by Trump between June 2014 and August 2016, such as calling Bergdahl “a dirty, rotten traitor” and opining he should be executed or dropped from an airplane to the Islamic State group, impacted the soldier’s right to a fair trial. Attorneys for Bergdahl filed a motion seeking the case’s dismissal over those comments within hours of Trump taking office Jan. 20. Nance did not say how long he expected to consider the matter before issuing a ruling.

Bergdahl’s court-martial on charges of desertion and the more serious misbehavior before the enemy is scheduled to begin April 18. During the hearing Monday, Nance declined to push back the trial’s schedule but he indicated it was likely to be delayed for the third time.

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/trump-s-comments-about-bergdahl-disturbing-judge-says-1.453775

[Ilsa]

1. I think Bergdahl's lawyer is a smart one.

Given the higher percentages of 45's support from military officers (I've heard; not sure it's true), I think a military jury may look it at as a slam dunk guilty verdict without considering facts, just because tRump told them to.