...much more important to get the jihadi thugs loose than it was to get Bergdahl back.
***
Sounds like a correct analysis.
There is no reason to even wonder if the President knew this man was a deserter. Obama did this to intimidate the US Congress, daring them to respond. He has done dozens of unlawful things with no one taking him to task. He just keeps ratcheting up the atrocities to establish that he can do anything he wants. He has made the Congress mute and powerless.