Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl--held captive for five years after being captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan--has requested a pardon from President Obama, Fox News has learned from two senior US officials.

According to a well-placed source, Bergdahl thanked the president for rescuing him in May 2014 in a controversial exchange for five Taliban prisoners from Gitmo, in addition to asking for a pardon in the letter.

The Secretary of the Army was copied on the letter to the president, but the pardon was not formally requested through the military chain of command.

A Justice Department official confirms that it received a pardon petition from Bergdahl. Pentagon and White House officials would not immediately respond for comment.

Bergdahl’s pardon letter was sent to the president via the Department of Justice, officials said. There was no immediate comment from DOJ.

Reached by phone, Eugene R. Fidell, the attorney representing Sgt. Bergdahl, would not comment on the letter.

Last month, Sgt. Bergdahl’s court-martial trial was delayed for a second time and will now begin May 15 at Fort Bragg, NC.

Bergdahl faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and could face up to life in prison.

President-elect Donald Trump called Bergdahl a “dirty, rotten traitor” early in his presidential campaign during a town hall in August 2015.

After being captured by the Taliban a short time after he left his post, Bergdahl was transferred to the Haqqani network, which top officials say is the most dangerous militant group in the region.

The State Department designated the Haqqani network, based in Pakistan, as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.

The US officials have long accused Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, of supporting the Haqqani network made up of Taliban fighters in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

During the U.S. military’s intensive man-hunt for Bergdahl over a five-year period it was reported that up to six American soldiers died and others were wounded in the search.

Shortly after he was returned to US custody, President Obama’s national security advisor Susan Rice said Bergdahl served his country with “honor and distinction.”

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/02/doj-confirms-bergdahl-requests-pardon-from-president-obama-us-officials.html

So the deserter and traitor who cost American's their lives gets off free and clear. Not to mention the Taliban turned him. Precision attacks skyrocketed after Bergdahl was captured and only someone with inside information that turned could have given them such precise information.

He should be executed and it should have happened a long time ago.

Request ≠ Granted
Denied to comment ≠ Confirmed

Does anyone have a thesaurus at Fox?

Birds of a Feather..................

I guess this is the best part about being a lame duck president. You just sit around and pardon people.. fulfill favors and set yourself up for your future.

I doubt he even bothers to get out of his PJ's anymore.

He has already declined that chap who is doing life for distributing weed... poor guy is festering in jail now when more and more states are legalizing it.

legal Pot distribution is a white man game, he's paying the ultimate price with no end in sight, if this Berg dude gets pardoned, i'd be shocked and quite angry at your broken system.

I don't smoke pot, but I sure as hell think it should be legalized.. nationwide. Alcohol is worse then pot.. by far and that is perfectly legal.

There are people in prison for 5-10 years or longer for having a few pounds of pot.

Not right.

dont forget 'captured'

this guy very well had his life on the line, there is no proof that soldiers dying was anything more unusual than any other time soldiers lose their lives,, and I would consider it extreme duress

unlike having a mistress, with access to classified information,,, I guess its ok since noone is said to have died because of it though

Bergdahl, should at the very least, be executed
for his crimes.

6 Special Operations members were killed while out searching for him. He deserted and defected to the Taliban. We got intelligence immediately that there was am American soldier who was defecting anf trying to find the Taliban.

The Delta unit that rescued him should have pushed his a$$ out of the helicopter. Accidents happen right?