Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who selfishly abandoned his unit in Afghanistan and triggered a search that left several comrades severely wounded, will serve no prison time, a military judge ruled Friday.
Across the country, critics are furious with the decision.
President Donald Trump, whose campaign-trail criticism loomed over the case, called the sentence a “disgrace.”
The charges centered on a decision by one soldier that affected many other lives. Bergdahl deserted his position and was captured by the Taliban and held for five years, until former President Barack Obama’s controversial decision to trade five high-ranking Taliban prisoners to bring him back.
As a presidential candidate, Trump called for Bergdahl to face stiff punishment. He could have received up to life in prison.
The judge also gave Bergdahl a dishonorable discharge, reduced his Army rank from sergeant to private and ordered him to forfeit pay equal to $1,000 per month for 10 months.
The judge gave no explanation of how he arrived at his decision, but he reviewed evidence including Bergdahl’s time spent in captivity and the wounds suffered by Army searchers.
In court, Bergdahl appeared tense, grimaced and clenched his jaw.
His defense lawyer Eugene Fidell told reporters after sentencing that his client “has looked forward to today for a long time.”
Bergdahl “is grateful to everyone who searched for him in 2009, especially those who heroically sustained injuries,” Fidell added.
Trump’s tweet came about 90 minutes after the sentence was announced.
The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
Bergdahl pleaded guilty last month to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The judge had wide leeway in deciding the sentence because Bergdahl made no deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment.
Prosecutors had sought a stiff penalty because of wounds suffered by service members who searched for Bergdahl after he disappeared in 2009.
The defense sought to counter that evidence with testimony about Bergdahl’s suffering as a captive after he deserted. The argument for leniency also cited harsh campaign-trail criticism by Trump.
The dishonorable discharge threatens to deprive Bergdahl of most or all his veterans’ benefits, but it also triggers an automatic appeal to a higher military court. Before that, a general who can lower, but not increase, the sentence will also review it.
Prosecutors, who had asked for a sentence of 14 years in prison, did not speak to reporters when they left court. But one of them, Maj. Justin Oshana, said during closing arguments Thursday that Bergdahl “does not have a monopoly on suffering as a result of his choices.”
The dishonorable private already has a job offer from an animal sanctuary.
The Associated Press contributed to this article