WASHINGTON — (CNN) Former American prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is asking President Barack Obama to grant him a pardon for charges he faces after leaving his post in Afghanistan in 2009, according to White House and Justice Department officials.
Following the presidential election last month, Bergdahl’s attorney’s submitted clemency applications to both the White House and Justice Department.
President-elect Donald Trump has been a staunch critic of Bergdahl and the prisoner swap made under Obama.
In 2014, Bergdahl was released after nearly five years in captivity by the Taliban in a prisoner swap for five detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
During the campaign, Trump frequently called Bergdahl a “traitor” and suggested that he should face harsher punishment.
Bergdahl faces a court martial on February 6, 2017.
The request for clemency was first reported by The New York Times.
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