Can Obama give Bergdahl a pardon now, or does he have to wait until charges are brought? Obama doesn’t want a court martial to take place, but what can he do to prevent one, other than putting pressure on people in the Army who are involved in handling the case?
A pardon can only be issued after the court has rendered a verdict of guilty. If the court deemed an innocent verdict...the pardon is not necessary. Frankly though...if you read the general text of a desertion deal and measure up Bergdahl....unless he says he was crazy and unable to comprehend what he was doing...that’s the only way to avoid a guilty verdict. His entire case will revolve around him proving himself nuts....as sad as it sounds. Will a couple of military officers sit there for a three-week trial and accept that? It’s hard to say. I would also say this...I doubt that the case would occur in 2015, and likely to be a spring 2016 episode....in the middle of an election period. If I were the Democrats...I’d be pretty hostile that the President’s whole game came in the middle of an election year.