U.S. Army/Handout/Reuters
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl reportedly sought and was denied a presidential pardon by former President Barack Obama, the Washington Post reported on Friday. The U.S. soldier is currently facing court-martial for desertion after he left his base in Afghanistan and was captured by enemy militants. According to Bergdahl’s attorney, Eugene Fidell, the soldier hoped to be among the 212 people Obama pardoned before leaving office, but he was not given one. The effort to obtain a pardon was disclosed by the lawyer in a new motion filed by Bergdahl’s legal team, attempting to dismiss the Army’s case on the grounds of President Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric towards the soldier during the presidential campaign. Trump having called Bergdahl a “dirty, rotten traitor” effectively denies Bergdahl “the due process right to a fair trial,” the soldier’s counsel said.