Questions Surrounding Release of Bowe Bergdahl

Guests: Eugene Fidell and Rachel Vanlandingham

The release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl after five years in Taliban captivity raises complex legal questions. Did Bergdahl leave his post, and could that mean he will now face desertion charges? Might the death penalty apply if he were found guilty? Was the exchange of Bergdahl for Taliban detainees even lawful? Did the Obama administration violate rules requiring notification of Congress? We’ll put these and other questions to two military law experts. EUGENE FIDELL is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School and former president of the National Institute of Military Justice. RACHEL VANLANDINGHAM is Visiting Assistant Professor at Stetson University College of Law in Florida and was formerly Chief of International Law at US Central Command under Generals Dempsey and Petraeus.