Military officials criticized NBC News and Fox News by name Tuesday for reporting Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face desertion charges for allegedly abandoning his post in Afghanistan in 2009, saying that the claims alleged by the two news networks are “patently false.”
“To be clear there have been no actions or decisions on the Sgt. Bergdahl investigation. The investigation is still with the Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces Command who will determine appropriate action — which ranges from no further action to convening a court martial,” said Maj. Gen. Ronald F. Lewis, the Chief of Public Affairs U.S. Army.
“We understand the public interest in this case and once a decision has been made, the Army will be open and transparent in this matter,” he said. “The reporting from Fox News and NBC on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is patently false.”
After Bergdahl disappeared from his post in 2009, he was captured by Islamic militants and held prisoner for five years.
President Obama exchanged Bergdahl in 2014 for five Taliban officers, a swap that came as a shock to the members of Congress who weren’t notified in advance.
The official investigation of Bergdahl’s capture concluded in 2014, but authorities have yet to reveal their findings or make a final decision.
Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby stressed Tuesday that “no decision” has been reached in its investigation of Bergdahl and his alleged desertion.
“There is a process here,” Kirby said, adding that Gen. Mark Milley, who will be deciding Bergdahl’s fate based on the findings in the investigation, is still “in a deliberative process.”
Kirby said bluntly that Bergdahl “has not been charged with any crime,” adding that he wanted to stick a “fork” in earlier reports suggesting otherwise.
The earlier reports claimed Bergdahl would face desertion charges.
“Bowe Bergdahl to face desertion charges,” NBC News reported Tuesday, citing an anonymous source.
Reuters followed NBC News’ lead, producing a report of its own that declared: “Bowe Bergdahl to face desertion charges: NBC.”
In an article that has since been retitled, Fox News reported: “Bowe Bergdahl to be charged with desertion.”
On Monday, retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer said in an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly that the desertion charges were a certainty.
“Bill, the Army has come to its conclusion and Bowe Bergdahl,” Shaffer said. “Sgt. Bergdahl will be charged with desertion. I have been told and confirmed by two other sources that his attorney was given what we call a charge sheet. A charge sheet is results of the investigation listing out the articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that have been violated. The key violation is desertion. And this is has been done. The decision has been made. Let me be very clear. As a corporate entity, the Army has decided that they want to pursue Bergdahl for this violation.”
The initial response from U.S. military officials was at first tepid. But by mid-afternoon Tuesday, Pentagon officials were criticizing news organizations by name.
O’Reilly will address the claims made on his show and the response from U.S. officials on his program Tuesday evening, a Fox News spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
A spokesperson for NBC News did not respond the Examiner’s request for comment.
