Posted on 12/20/2016 7:36:47 AM PST by luke1825
Who would have thought that Bowe Bergdahl would score a presidential pardon before Hillary Clinton?
Not that President Barack Obama has pardoned either one -- at least not yet.
But Christmas is coming. So don't be surprised if Obama lets Sgt. Bergdahl walk instead of having him stand trial, as scheduled, for desertion and misbehavior in the face of the enemy.
U.S. Army Sgt. Bergdahl endangered his fellow soldiers when he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009, leaving his weapon and body armor behind, and walked into the arms of the Taliban.
(Excerpt) Read more at lowellsun.com ...
Do not know if you can issue a pardon if there is not a conviction.
I’m sure you can....it’s just semantics...
Nixon was pardoned...but never convicted.
Poor Bowe has been in the spotlight for so long and his trial is not until next spring, he deserves a break.
Members of his former unit should be allowed to take him on a week camping trip, far from civilization, to catch up on old times.
If,by chance,I'm correct it seems possible that this pig's case won't even go to trial.So it could be that the pig walks whatever happens.
Yep. In 1866, the Supreme Court ruled in Ex parte Garland that the pardon power "extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment." (In that case, a former Confederate senator successfully petitioned the court to uphold a pardon that prevented him from being disbarred.) Generally speaking, once an act has been committed, the president can issue a pardon at any time—regardless of whether charges have even been filed.
Source: Preemptive Presidential Pardon
Obama may pardon Bergdahl, but the public and those that served with him will never do it. Bergdahl even if pardoned will remain Pariah for the rest of his life.
If Obama pardons Bergdahl for crimes under the UCMJ; Bergdahl should be tried for treason under Federal Statute.
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