Free Republic

A travesty of justice occurred on Friday. A deserter with blood on his heels will walk free, leaving dead and maimed Americans in his wake, because of a bully’s pulpit and a weak man’s bench and gavel. The miscarriage results from a president who tweets too much and a judge who discerns too little. Candidate Trump tweeted some harsh things about the consequences he believed deserter Bowe Bergdahl should face. Among other things, Trump called Bergdahl a “dirty rotten traitor” and a “no good traitor who should have been executed.” Commentators expressed concern at the time about inappropriate command influence...

Bowe Bergdahl will not serve more time behind bars, a military judge has decided eight years after he deserted his platoon in Afghanistan. His desertion, to which he pleaded guilty, and the subsequent search for him that led to the deaths of six soldiers did not result in the 14-year sentence prosecutors requested in the case. The judge also ruled that Bergdahl be dishonorably discharged, that his rank be reduced from sergeant to private, and that he be required to pay a $1,000 fine from his salary for the next ten months, CNN reported. “As everyone knows, he was a...