Pentagon: ‘Bergdahl Has Not Been Charged With Any Crime’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pentagon said on Tuesday that no decision has been made on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s desertion case, adding that he may not be charged at all.

“No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sgt. Bergdahl. None and there is no timeline to make that decision and Gen. Milley is not being put under any pressure to make a decision,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters.

“He has not been charged… We’re going off anonymous sources who claim to have information that frankly I don’t think is accurate…We have a process and we need to let that work its way through,” he later added.

Citing anonymous sources during Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilley Factor” on Monday, retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer of the London Center for Policy Reserach claimed that Sgt. Bergdahl “will be charged with desertion.”

On Tuesday, NBC News reported that it had confirmed the charges, but added that the Army had not formally accused Bergdahl.

Sgt. Jordan Vaughn told Daily Mail Online on Tuesday that he and other soldiers who served alongside Bergdahl agree that Bergdahl should be court-martialed Bergdahl for desertion.

“We all think absolutely that he should be court-martialed and that he was intending to desert,” Vaughn said.

“It’s very clear to all of us that it was desertion, and obviously that’s court-martiable,” he reiterated.

Eugene R. Fidell, Bergdahl’s lawyer, also told Daily Mail Online on Tuesday that “he had not been issued a charge sheet on behalf of his client.”

The Pentagon spokesman explained that Gen. Mark Milley, as the General Courts Martial Convening Authority in the case, is currently reviewing the investigation and “has come to no conclusions” and “has made no decisions.”

Gen. Milley “is going to be given the time he needs to decide how this case ought to be disposed,” said Kirby, later adding, “one of the things he could decide if he wanted to is no action at all. Yes, it could go from no action to a general court martial.”

Ultimately, Gen. Milley will decide the appropriate action to take against Bergdahl who has been accused of deserting his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after he allegedly left his post. He was released in a controversial exchange for five senior Taliban commanders held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

The exchange was approved by President Obama who violated the law by refusing to notify lawmakers 30 days prior to making the transfer.