US News

Bergdahl hires a lawyer, thanks Obama

He has yet to speak to his own parents, but the accused Army deserter who was swapped for five Taliban prisoners managed to get a message to President Obama.

“Sergeant Bergdahl is deeply grateful to President Obama for having saved his life,” Bowe Bergdahl’s lawyer, Eugene Fidell, told a magazine Wednesday.

Bergdahl, an Army sergeant who was a POW for five years, has returned to active duty at a desk job in San Antonio following his “re-integration” back into the service.

He is assigned to U.S. Army North at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

Bergdahl, 28, was freed May 31 in exchange for five Taliban prisoners who were being held at the US facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Critics of the deal said the Obama administration paid too high a price and questioned if Bergdahl had been captured after deserting his post.

Fidell, who was hired last week, told Time magazine that Bergdahl is aware of the controversy surrounding his case.

“Sergeant Bergdahl has had a close brush with death over a prolonged period of time,” Fidell told CNN. “He understands that his life has been saved.”

Bergdahl has also retained an Army attorney, said Fidell, who specializes in in military law.

Bergdahl’s case is being investigated by a two-star Army major general.

“Before I was in the case, I was skeptical that the investigation called for a major general,” Fidell said. “I now understand why management thought that it was a good idea to have a two-star officer doing this investigation.”

Fidell declined to detail what made him change his mind, but he said the case is complex.

Soldiers said Bergdahl walked away from his unit after expressing misgivings about the U.S. military’s role — as well as his own — in Afghanistan.

Criticism increased after several fellow soldiers died in an attempt to find him.

Officials said Bergdahl had not seen or spoken with his parents since his return to the United States.

With Post Wire Services