Opinion: Trump has no business decrying Bowe Bergdahl’s sentence

To the editor: What are we to make of a president who continually attempts to impede justice rather than further it? (“Bowe Bergdahl to get no prison time for desertion, judge rules,” Nov. 3)

This is especially dismaying coming from a man who had never served his country in any capacity whatsoever. His reason for avoiding the military draft during the Vietnam War may have been legitimate, but his dismissal of those who do serve is unacceptable (witness his contempt for Sen. John McCain).

Whether Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s sentence was fair or otherwise, it was for the courts to decide. Similarly, while the accused New York terrorist attacker may be evil, the resolution of his case is again up to the justice system and not the president.

I fear for our ever regaining our standing among nations, since so much damage has been done in less than a year.

Lora Sigler, San Pedro

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To the editor: The defense tactic by Bergdahl’s legal team of stressing the physical and emotional toll of five grueling years of captivity by the Taliban is a wonderfully absurd legal creativity beyond rational explanation.

The suffering he experienced was a direct consequence of his own voluntary act of desertion, to which he pleaded guilty.

Bergdahl’s defense reminds me of the story of the child who kills both of his parents, then pleads for mercy from the court because he is an orphan.

Jean-Claude Demirdjian, Los Angeles

The writer is an attorney and a retired Air Force captain.

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To the editor: When our president makes outrageous statements, they are instantly blasted out all over the world. While it is heartening to find the press has started fact-checking these statements and, on occasion, refuting them as lies and inaccuracies, these repudiations reach a much smaller audience.

I had to read deep into a lengthy article inside Saturday’s newspaper to learn that the military judge in the Bergdahl case found Trump’s attacks on the Army sergeant to be a mitigating factor for the defense. (“Trump risks interfering with New York attack prosecution, despite warnings in Bergdahl case,” Nov. 3)

Why was there not been a front-page article with a headline like, “Trump’s statements result in leniency”?

Nancy Garf Moses, Irvine

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