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Just two days before he’s due to appear in court, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s lawyer, citing what has been “open season” on his client, is pushing for the public release of parts of the Army’s investigation into the soldier’s disappearance.
Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s lead defense attorney, wants the executive summary of Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl’s 2014 investigation, along with the transcript of Dahl’s “lengthy interview” with Bergdahl, to be released to the public.
"Both documents are unclassified,” Fidell said in a statement.
“The defense believes it is in the public interest for these documents to be made available without further delay,” Fidell said. He added that the defense asked for the documents to be made public five months ago.
Fidell declined further comment by phone, but he released a document that in June was submitted to the Army Professional Conduct Council.
The 84-page document asks for the council to rule on whether the defense is ethically allowed to release the documents in question.
“It is an understatement to observe that Sgt. Bergdahl’s case has been and continues to be the subject of intense and highly politicized media interest,” the document states.
Bergdahl spent five years as a captive under the Taliban and was released last year in a controversial prisoner swap.
The document from Fidell goes on to highlight instances where analysts, to include Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, a former military intelligence officer described in the document as a "retired Army Reserve field grade officer," and Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, described as "a retired CIA employee," have “repeatedly gone on the air with information said to have been leaked by government officials.”
“In one instance, it appeared that classified information had been compromised by such an ‘analyst,’ ” the document states. “In several instances, persons appearing on Fox [News] have disseminated demonstrably false information, leading Department of Defense and Army public affairs at one point to issue strong public denials.” ".....
Just two days before he’s due to appear in court, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s lawyer, citing what has been “open season” on his client, is pushing for the public release of parts of the Army’s investigation into the soldier’s disappearance.
Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s lead defense attorney, wants the executive summary of Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl’s 2014 investigation, along with the transcript of Dahl’s “lengthy interview” with Bergdahl, to be released to the public.
"Both documents are unclassified,” Fidell said in a statement.
“The defense believes it is in the public interest for these documents to be made available without further delay,” Fidell said. He added that the defense asked for the documents to be made public five months ago.
Fidell declined further comment by phone, but he released a document that in June was submitted to the Army Professional Conduct Council.
The 84-page document asks for the council to rule on whether the defense is ethically allowed to release the documents in question.
“It is an understatement to observe that Sgt. Bergdahl’s case has been and continues to be the subject of intense and highly politicized media interest,” the document states.
Bergdahl spent five years as a captive under the Taliban and was released last year in a controversial prisoner swap.
The document from Fidell goes on to highlight instances where analysts, to include Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, a former military intelligence officer described in the document as a "retired Army Reserve field grade officer," and Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, described as "a retired CIA employee," have “repeatedly gone on the air with information said to have been leaked by government officials.”
“In one instance, it appeared that classified information had been compromised by such an ‘analyst,’ ” the document states. “In several instances, persons appearing on Fox [News] have disseminated demonstrably false information, leading Department of Defense and Army public affairs at one point to issue strong public denials.” ".....
