Former Platoon Leader: Bowe Bergdahl Seeking Pardon from Obama a ‘Desperate Attempt’ by His Defense Team

U.S. Army Sgt. Matt Vierkant (Ret.), the former leader of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon, said on Fox and Friends Monday that Bergdahl’s decision to seek a pardon from President Obama is a “desperate attempt” by him and his defense team.

“The bottom line is he has to be accountable for his actions,” Vierkant said to Fox News. “It’s nobody’s fault but his that he was put in that position, so he has nobody to blame but himself. And it’s unfortunate that he was a prisoner for five years, but it’s his own fault.”

Bergdahl, who is facing a court-martial trial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after he abandoned his Army post in 2009, recently requested a pardon from President Obama.

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade noted that Bergdahl’s defense attorney Eugene Fidell alleges that his client cannot get a fair trial under the Trump administration because of the president-elect’s opinion of Bergdahl that he made clear on the campaign trail.

Trump called Bergdahl a “dirty, rotten traitor” who “should have been executed” at a campaign event in August 2015, according to the Hill.

Vierkant said that Trump was merely expressing his opinion and has no say in the trial.

“I believe we should let the military be professionals who conduct themselves in a professional manner and hold the trial, because his opinion isn’t going to affect it any more than my opinion or anyone else,” he said.