Outside the Beltway

The trial judge had a conflict of interest.

An Army appellate court has rejected an appeal filed by Bowe Bergdahl that argued that the President’s attacks on him while a candidate unfairly influenced his court martial.

Can the commander-in-chief’s tweets be unlawful command influence?

Donald Trump spent part of Labor Day engaged in yet another unhinged attack on his own Justice Department.

Once again, the President has thrown the Rule of Law under the bus.

Donald Trump continues to demonstrate that he has nothing but utter contempt for the Rule of Law. At some point, he will either be called to account for this or our nation’s institutions will suffer as a result.

In his time as President, Donald Trump has demonstrated as much contempt for the rule of law as he did as a candidate.

Bowe Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge and reduction in rank, but will not serve time in prison.

The Bergdahl case comes to an end.

A military judge has rejected a motion to dismiss the case against Bowe Bergdahl based on comments made by Donald Trump when he was a candidate for President.

Could Donald Trump’s comments about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on the campaign trail lead to the case against Bergdahl being dismissed? A military judge will have to decide.

Bowe Bergdahl’s Court Martial has been delayed until 2017, which raises the possibility that comments by Donald Trump could result in Bergdahl getting off scot-free.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a Court Martial for the circumstances that led to his being capture and held captive by the Taliban for five years.

President Obama is set to sign a military spending bill that effectively guarantees that his 2008 campaign promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will go unfulfilled.

We live in a random and chaotic universe.

Bowe Bergdahl will face charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, and the White House’s narrative about this release lies in tatters.

Reports indicate that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is likely to be charged with desertion for leaving his post in 2009, but he’s unlikely to serve time in prison.

The Army’s investigation of the disappearance five years ago of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been referred to a top General, who will decide if a court martial should be convened.

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

The General Accounting Office confirmed what seems clear to anyone who can read a statute.

The South Dakota Republican Party has officially endorsed the impeachment of President Obama.

More bad poll numbers for the President.

My latest for War on the Rocks, “HAGEL: CLIMBING OUT FROM UNDER THE BUS,” has posted.

Thanks largely to Administration mistakes, the Bergdahl deal is not going over well.

Mostly because of politics, the hopes of some and fears of others will never be realized.

Trying to make some sense out of a week of outrage.

If someone had seen the signals, perhaps Bowe Bergdahl never would’ve wandered off base and gotten captured.

Good intentions and good results aside, the President’s disrespect for the Rule Of Law should concern everyone.

Contrary to the oft-repeated slogan, the United States has negotiated with terrorists before. And we will do it again.

Not every soldier is a hero. Not even every POW.

Good intentions aren’t an excuse for failure to follow the law.

It’s good that Bowe Bergdahl is free, but questions remain about how he went missing that need to be answered.

Politics.

The Obama White House rejected Republican criticism of the deal that led to the release of the only American Prisoner Of War from the Afghanistan War.

Petty politics, or valid concerns?

Slowly but surely, we’re giving up on Afghanistan.