Officials: Bowe Bergdahl will be charged with desertion

The Taliban held Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl captive for five years, and now senior military sources are claiming that he will be charged with desertion, NBC News reported.

Before his capture in June 2009, Bergdahl allegedly deserted his unit, and the Army has been actively reviewing his case since his release in May 2014.

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The Taliban freed Bergdahl in a controversial prisoner exchange last year. The U.S. freed five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdahl.

Now, Bergdahl could be charged with desertion within the week, according to unnamed senior defense officials.

These may be unfounded reports, however. Reuters contacted several senior Army and defense officials about Bergdahl’s cause, yet none could confirm the report.

According to The Washington Post, top Pentagon officials are outright denying these claims.

“Let me just put a fork in this right not, if I can,” John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on Tuesday. “No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sergeant Bergdahl. And General Milley is not being put under any pressure to make a decision, either way.”

General Mark Milley is the officer in charge of the case, and he has yet to publicly state whether or not he will file charges against Bergdahl.

If General Milley does decide that Bergdahl intentionally abandoned his base, Bergdahl could be court-martialed or face other forms of administrative punishment. This means that he might be forced to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay and benefits.

The investigation about Bergdahl began due to accusations from his fellow soldiers claiming that the soldier walked away from his post in Afghanistan.

SEE ALSO: Bergdahl’s release: birthers, truthers and conspiracies unleashed

This made the prisoner exchange for Bergdahl even more controversial; as many of his fellow soldiers felt that the U.S. shouldn’t exchange Taliban prisoners for a deserter.

NBC did quote officials saying that Bergdahl’s time in captivity will be considered in his case. Bergdahl’s attorney declined to comment on NBC’s report.

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