Lindsey Graham: I Opposed Bergdahl Swap, but He Deserves a Fair Trial

“This man deserves a fair trial. He’s presumed innocent. He will be given a vigorous defense. I don’t want to — I don’t want to try him on television. The charges are serious. We’ll see where this thing goes. But let’s not try this young man by antidote. Let’s make sure the government has to prove their case as required under military law beyond a reasonable doubt and he’s presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. So I don’t want to speculate. I have been doing this for 33 years now as a military judge, prosecutor and defense attorney. I’m very proud of the military justice system. Give the guy a fair trial ...

I have nothing but disgust for this deal. If Bergdahl had been a Medal of Honor winner, it would not have mattered to me. I’m not worried about the service of Sergeant Bergdahl, whether he’s acquitted or convicted. Letting these five terrorist leaders go undermined the war effort, put our nation at risk. The war is not over. They are still fighting in Afghanistan. I thought it was disproportionate. There’s a military code of conduct to bring everybody home if you can. But no military member should expect us to release five terrorist leaders to get them back regardless of the quality of Bergdahl’s service. This undermined the war effort. These people are going to go back to the fight. And what do you tell a family member that may be killed by one of these guys down the road?”