Bowe Bergdahl has still not been interviewed by Army investigator as authorities try to determine how he ended up in insurgents' hands

  • Two-star general was appointed last week to investigate the matter
  • Anything he says in debriefing could be still be used against him in legal proceedings
  • Officials say Bergdahl has been cooperative but has not been read his legal rights or asked for a lawyer

By Associated Press

Published: 13:18 EST, 25 June 2014 | Updated: 16:09 EST, 25 June 2014

The U.S. Army sergeant recently released from captivity by the Taliban is in something of a legal limbo as the investigation continues into why and how he left his post in Afghanistan five years ago and ended up in insurgents' hands.

Senior U.S. Army officials said Wednesday that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has not yet been interviewed by the two-star general appointed last week to investigate the matter.

They said he has not been read his legal rights and has not asked for a lawyer.

The U.S. Army says Bergdahl has been released from inpatient care at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas and the former prisoner of war in Afghanistan is now receiving outpatient care at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio

The U.S. Army says Bergdahl has been released from inpatient care at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas and the former prisoner of war in Afghanistan is now receiving outpatient care at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio

But the officials said the military team helping him recover from his imprisonment has told him that he is not immune from any subsequent charges, including anything linked to information he gives them now.

One senior Army official said that any admission Bergdahl may blurt out during the debriefings could be used against him. If that happens, the official said the debriefing would be halted and he could be read his rights and given access to a lawyer if he asked for one.

The official said Bergdahl has been cooperative and it appears he has not made any admissions that could be used against him.

 

More...

The tenuous legal line is that the reintegration team is focusing on the five years he spent in captivity, not how he got there.

And Army officials said there is no suggestion that Bergdahl was guilty of any misconduct while he was held captive, so there is no reason yet to read him his legal rights.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly by name.

Bergdahl, 28, disappeared from his post in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. Some former members of his unit have said that he left of his own accord. Bergdahl has not commented publicly on the circumstances of his disappearance.

The Army officials said Wednesday that the investigation launched last week into the matter will examine whether Bergdahl went AWOL or if he deserted his post

The Army officials said Wednesday that the investigation launched last week into the matter will examine whether Bergdahl went AWOL or if he deserted his post

Several days after he disappeared, it became clear that he had been taken prisoner by insurgents.

The Army officials said Wednesday that the investigation launched last week into the matter will examine whether Bergdahl went AWOL or if he deserted his post.

A deserter in legal terms has no intention of returning, while a soldier who goes AWOL intends to.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl, deputy commanding general of 1st Corps at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state, is conducting the investigation with a deadline of mid-August.

His recommendations would be forwarded to the director of the Army staff, who could approve or alter them, and then forward them to Bergdahl's commander for any appropriate action.

The questions surrounding Bergdahl's disappearance also complicate his back pay. His pay was initially going into his bank account after he disappeared, but at a certain point the account became frozen due to inactivity.

At that point, the Army set up another account to hold his pay. Bergdahl has access to the pay in his bank account, but not the pay in the second account. And, if it is determined he went AWOL or deserted, he could be forced to repay money.

The official said Bergdahl has been cooperative and it appears he has not made any admissions that could be used against him

The official said Bergdahl has been cooperative and it appears he has not made any admissions that could be used against him

According to a U.S. official, Bergdahl accumulated more than $300,000 in back pay since he disappeared in June 2009, but it's not clear how much of that has been frozen.

If it is determined that he did not go AWOL or desert his post, he also could receive roughly another $300,000 or more because he was a prisoner of war.

Once Bergdahl was back in U.S. military hands on May 31, he began to get his regular sergeant's pay.

U.S. officials have said that Bergdahl was largely held in Pakistan by members of the Haqqani network, which has strong links to the Taliban as well as Pakistan's intelligence service.

He was turned over to a U.S. military team by members of the Taliban on May 31, in exchange for the release of five Afghans being held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center.

Bergdahl was initially treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, but is now receiving outpatient care at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Army officials would not say Wednesday whether he has the ability to move freely on and off the base or if his movements are being constrained.

Comments (20)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

Perhaps they appointed the role of investigating the incident to the same team prosecuting Major Nadal Hassan.

1
1
 Click to rate

AWOL, to the brig he should go!

0
4
 Click to rate

well all they have to do is ask anyone of you, since you great smart folks know everything.....

10
0
 Click to rate

It is apparent that his buddies from whom he went AWOL know exactly what happened; and after six of his comrades lost their lives looking for him, thirty days elapsed and he should have been automatically classified as a deserter. It seems that he was intercepted by the enemy out of uniform and unarmed and they kept him as a hostage. At the time he was a PFC and during his period of nearly five years captivity and despite his seemingly unpatriotic actions he was promoted to corporal and then to sergeant. This appears to have been a massive face-saving cover up by the army who apparently pretended that the embarrassing desertion was a soldier being held as a POW. The irony was the release of five high-value and high-ranking Gitmo prisoners for soldier characterized as a POW with the emotive gesture of "leaving no man behind."

2
12
 Click to rate

It seems lately lots of questions come up like mysteries but are never answered. Where is the Malaysian plane? Where are the schoolgirls? How has it taken so long to retrieve those bodies from the Korean ferry when it looks like you can walk out to it as it lies like a beached whale in low tide? What is up with all of this about Bowe Bergdahl?

0
11
 Click to rate

What a total fiasco ... more like he won't be released until the issue has died down enough to protect the current loser administration.

2
28
 Click to rate

In essence, just like the rest of this administration, if we don't get to ask the right questions, we don't get to the answers that the liberals will deem, well, um....uncomfortable, er, um...factual, or relevant. No sense clouding the judgement of so many "believers" or as Jimmy Jones called them - takers of the Kool-aid. You can't make this stuff up - just can't.

2
19
 Click to rate

"And Army officials said there is no suggestion that Bergdahl was guilty of any misconduct while he was held captive, so there is no reason yet to read him his legal rights." Where have I heard this before? Not a 'smidgen' of misconduct? This smells like a legal set-up so that a lot of evidence will be dismissed during his trial. This is coming from the top. I hope the junior Officers currently handling him remember their oaths before buckling down to unlawful influence.

1
20
 Click to rate

well i am sure you know best...

2
1
 Click to rate

They should restrict this person's access to military facilities - unless they want to have another Foot Hood shooting on their hands.

0
24
 Click to rate

He walked off voluntarily, deserted his fellow soldiers and deserted the USA. It's pretty simple to figure out.

1
42
 Click to rate

ahhh texas

6
0
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now