video Video
Trump created "lynch mob atmosphere": Bergdahl attorney
Friday, November 03, 2017 - 01:04
With his client spared prison time, Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's attorney, Eugene Fidell on Friday criticized President Trump for his ''unprincipaled effort to stoke a lynch mob atmosphere'' during his presidential campaign when he called Bergdahl ''a no-good traitor who should have been executed.'' Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
▲ Hide Transcript
▶ View Transcript
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl on Friday was spared prison time for endangering fellow troops when he deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009, but a military judge ordered he should be dishonorably discharged from the service. Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban and spent five years under brutal captivity by the insurgent group. He had faced up to life in prison after pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The 31-year-old Idaho native trembled in a military courtroom at Fort Bragg in North Carolina as he waited to hear his punishment. Army Colonel Jeffery Nance delivered the sentence in a hearing that lasted just two minutes, and did not comment on his decision. He also recommended Bergdahl be demoted to private. Bergdahl and lawyers in the case had no immediate comment. Prosecutors had asked Nance to send Bergdahl to prison for 14 years for the hardships and injuries endured by service members who searched for the soldier after he left his combat outpost in Paktika province in June 2009 without permission. Defense lawyers had said Bergdahl, who experts testified has several mental health conditions, should not go to prison. Bergdahl's case made him a polarizing figure. He drew withering criticism from political leaders in Washington and fellow soldiers, both for the dangerous efforts to find him and the 2014 Taliban prisoner swap brokered by the Democratic Obama administration that secured his release. During his successful campaign for the presidency last year, Republican Donald Trump called Bergdahl "a no-good traitor who should have been executed." Nance, acting on a defense motion, ruled that Trump's comments had not influenced him nor affected Bergdahl's chances of a fair sentence, but said he would consider them a mitigating factor. Defense attorneys argued at Bergdahl's sentencing hearing that he was a young, hardworking soldier who did not understand the full consequences of his actions when he deserted. Bergdahl, who has said he wanted to report problems in his unit, apologized in court this week for the suffering he caused his comrades and admitted he had made "a horrible mistake." Prosecutors, however, said Bergdahl knew his disappearance would trigger alarm in the war zone. Prosecutors acknowledged that Bergdahl suffered during his years as a prisoner of the Taliban, but argued that did not diminish the pain of fellow service members who were injured during the futile hunt for him.
Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code
Trump created "lynch mob atmosphere": Bergdahl attorney
Friday, November 03, 2017 - 01:04
Top News »
1:40am BST - (1:24)
12:30am BST - (1:34)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (0:31)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:29)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:12)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (0:57)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (0:43)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:43)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (2:04)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (2:03)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:47)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (2:16)
Editors' Picks »
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:24)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (0:57)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:45)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (2:44)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (2:15)
Mon, 16 Apr, 2018 - (1:59)
Sat, 14 Apr, 2018 - (1:09)
Sat, 14 Apr, 2018 - (2:15)
Sat, 14 Apr, 2018 - (1:40)
Business »
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:09)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (5:20)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:22)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:37)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:03)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:59)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:48)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (4:56)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:42)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:47)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:47)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:44)
Featured Videos
Luxury liner Queen Elizabeth II reopens as floating hotel
One of the world's most famous ships is now a floating hotel permanently moored at Dubai's Mina Rashid port
World Toad in the Hole Championships
The aim of the traditional pub game originating from France is to land as many large brass coins or 'toads' in a table's small hole
Tarantula burgers on the menu
For adventurous diners, tarantula topped burgers are available at a Durham, North Carolina restaurant as part of its ‘exotic meat’ month
Runners brave the cold for North Pole Marathon
Runners brave freezing conditions at top of the world in North Pole Marathon
UK firm turns discarded gum into shoes, coffee cups and combs
Chewing gum is a blight on city streets and takes a heavy toll on the environment, say its critics. But one woman in Britain is performing modern-day alchemy on it
Technology »
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:50)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:54)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (0:46)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (1:03)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (1:01)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (1:35)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (1:25)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (1:07)
Mon, 16 Apr, 2018 - (1:54)
Entertainment »
3:10am BST - (0:59)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (0:46)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:31)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (2:10)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (0:49)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:19)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:27)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:28)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:36)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (1:04)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (1:54)
Sports And Leisure »
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:08)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (2:22)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (0:48)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (1:19)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (3:00)
Wed, 18 Apr, 2018 - (1:30)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (1:23)
Mon, 16 Apr, 2018 - (2:02)
Mon, 16 Apr, 2018 - (2:55)
Fri, 13 Apr, 2018 - (0:52)
Oddly Enough »
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:00)
Fri, 20 Apr, 2018 - (1:27)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (0:53)
Thu, 19 Apr, 2018 - (0:53)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (1:33)
Tue, 17 Apr, 2018 - (1:27)
Thu, 12 Apr, 2018 - (0:49)
Wed, 11 Apr, 2018 - (3:54)
Tue, 10 Apr, 2018 - (0:56)
Dateline Asia »
Tue, 05 Dec, 2017 - (2:06)
Tue, 05 Dec, 2017 - (2:11)
Fri, 01 Dec, 2017 - (2:04)
Thu, 30 Nov, 2017 - (2:10)
Thu, 30 Nov, 2017 - (2:14)
Wed, 29 Nov, 2017 - (2:11)
Tue, 28 Nov, 2017 - (1:55)
Tue, 28 Nov, 2017 - (2:21)
Mon, 27 Nov, 2017 - (2:25)
Fri, 24 Nov, 2017 - (2:16)
Fri, 24 Nov, 2017 - (2:14)
Thu, 23 Nov, 2017 - (2:18)