A potential military court-martial for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl would likely be put off until after President Barack Obama leaves office, says retired Judge Andrew Napolitano.
Obama has faced criticism for trading Bergdahl, now facing desertion charges, for five top Taliban commanders in May 2014. Obama also brought Bergdhal's parents to the White House to announce the trade at a Rose Garden ceremony that critics saw as improper because Bergdahl had willingly walked off base without a weapon.
Appearing Wednesday on Fox News Channel's
"Shepard Smith Reporting," Napolitano said politics might play a role in postponing a trial until after Obama is out of office in January 2017, but that the main reason would be the amount of evidence the defense attorney would have to digest and possibly challenge.
Napolitano said it is likely that Bergdahl already has been arrested and jailed because of the seriousness of the charges.
"In the civilian world, the FBI picks you up when these charges are released," he said.
The desertion charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but a second charge, misbehavior before the enemy, could put him in prison for life.
For that reason, bond is likely to be denied, Napolitano said.
"I would think he would be locked up facing life in prison," the judge said. "I don't think they're going to trust him to show up at 8:30 in the morning."
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