IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ARMED FORCES

Sergeant ROBERT B. BERGDAHL,
U.S. Army,
Appellant,
v.
PETER Q. BURKE,
Lieutenant Colonel, AG,
U.S. Army,
in his official capacity as
Commander, Special Troops
Battalion, U. S. Army Forces
Command, Fort Bragg, NC, and
Special Court-Martial
Convening Authority,
and
UNITED STATES,
Appellees.

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MOTION FOR EXPEDITED HEARING

Crim. App. Misc. Dkt.

No. 20150624
USCA Dkt. No. 16-0059/AR

TO THE HONORABLE, THE JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ARMED FORCES:
This case, Hearst Newspapers, LLC v. Abrams, No. 16-0116/AR,
and Bergdahl v. Abrams, No. 16-0119/AR raise related issues.
Briefing is complete in this case and will be complete in the
other two just after Thanksgiving. As he did yesterday in No.
16-0119/AR,

Sergeant

Bergdahl

respectfully

requests

expedited

hearing in accordance with Rule 19(e), which provides that the

Court,

will,

whenever

practicable,

appeal petitions.

give

priority

to

writ-

The passage of time is materially prejudicial to SGT Bergdahl. As we explained in moving for an expedited hearing in No.
16-0119/AR, Donald Trump, the leading contender for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, has repeatedly described SGT Bergdahl as a traitor. Mr. Trump has continued
to do so even after we complained on August 20, 2015 that this
language is defamatory and used with reckless disregard for the
truth.
The following table lists the known occasions on which Mr.
Trump has defamed SGT Bergdahl, including as recently as last
Wednesday:
Date

Venue

Apr.
9,
2015

Breitbart
News interview

Apr.
23,
2015

The John
Fredericks
Show, VA
(radio)
Campaign
launch,
NYC

Traitor,
lost 5
or 6
lives

July
21,
2015

Bluffton, SC

No-good,
rotten
traitor

Aug.
6,
2015

GOP Debate I,
Fox
News,
Cleve-

Dirty,
rotten
traitor;
6 killed

June
16,
2015

Statement
Traitor

Traitor,
no-good
traitor

Source
http://www.breitbart.com/nationalsecurity/2015/04/09/exclusive-donaldtrump-obama-totally-out-negotiated-byiran-taliban-virtually-every-countryin-the-world/
http://www.johnfredericksradio.com/poli
tical-insighter-trump-unplugged-on-thejohn-fredericks-show/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post
-politics/wp/2015/06/16/full-textdonald-trump-announces-a-presidentialbid/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-ometer/statements/2015/jul/23/donaldtrump/trump-guantanamo-prisonersswapped-bowe-bergdahl-a/
http://video.foxnews.com/v/440674600300
1/watch-a-replay-of-fox-news-primetime-presidential-debate/?#sp=showclips

Aug.
21,
2015

land, OH
Derry,
Dirty,
NH
rotten
traitor;
6 killed
Mobile,
Traitor;
AL
at least
6 killed

Aug.
27,
2015

Greenville,
SC

Oct.
8,
2015
Oct.
26,
2015
Nov.
3,
2015
Nov.
10,
2015

Las Vegas, NV

Aug.
19,
2015

Nov.
11,
2015

6 died;
he went
to the
other
side
No-good
traitor

Atkinson, NH

Dirty
rotten
traitor
GMA,
Traitor
ABC, New X2
York, NY
SpringDirty,
field,
rotten
IL,
traitor,
49:54ff
6 people
died
looking
for him
Manches- Dirty,
ter, NH
rotten
traitor

Nov.
12,
2015

Fort
Dodge,
IA,
23:19ff

No good,
dirty,
rotten
traitor

Nov.
16,
2015

Knoxville,
TN

Dirty,
rotten
traitor

Nov.
18,
2015

Worcester, MA

Dirty,
rotten
traitor

http://www.wsj.com/video/trumpbergdahl-a-dirty-rottentraitor/F83D4013-58A3-4A8E-BE9574DAC2A03BB1.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/
trumps-audacious-southern-spectacle-ispart-of-hisstrategy/2015/08/21/31da2a88-4812-11e5846d-02792f854297_story.html
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefingroom/252125-trump-univision-anchor-isa-lunatic
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/25643
7-trump-says-bergdahl-should-beexecuted

http://nhpr.org/post/trumps-targetsmedia-carson-and-obama-order
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/donaldtrump-discusses-family-crippledamerica-34933000
http://wuis.org/post/trump-rallyhighlights-and-his-fullremarks#stream/0

http://www.wmur.com/politics/afterstrong-debate-trump-makes-earlymorning-appearance-at-recordsettingpolitics-and-eggs-event/36388534
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politic
s/2015/11/13/the-most-stunning-quotesfrom-donald-trump-iowaremarks/uoGOHlWclQhWERGMYEIO5J/story.html
http://www.breitbart.com/biggovernment/2015/11/17/donald-trumpvows-bomb-s-isis-ridicules-weaknessobama-clinton/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/
post-politics/wp/2015/11/18/nine-

things-that-happened-during-donaldtrumps-visit-toworcester/?hpid=hp_hp-more-topstories_pp-trump115am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20
15/11/18/watch-live-donald-trumphosts-rallyworcester/a444uyJfI6yU9uvg6G7hnK/story.htm
l
The First Amendment rules out any effort to prevent Mr.
Trump from making these defamatory remarks. The fact remains,
however, that his pattern of doing so, with the full glare of
public attention before mass audiences around the country, materially threatens SGT Bergdahls right to fair consideration by
the convening authority as well as in a court-martial, if any
charges are in the end referred.
SGT Bergdahl is not in a position either to sue Mr. Trump
at this time, or to make public statements, demand the microphone or hog the camera as Mr. Trump continues to do. All SGT
Bergdahl hopes for is something more closely approximating a
level playing field in the court of public opinion by ensuring
that the public has access without further delay to the unclassified AR 15-6 report prepared last year by Major General (as he
then was) Kenneth R. Dahl as well as the unclassified transcript
of his interview with General Dahl. As we observed last month:

Mr. Trump and the echo chamber that has amplified his
voice beyond all reason have a right to free speech.
Simple fairness demands that SGT Bergdahl at least be
able to defend himself by permitting public access in
real time to documents that put the lie to the kind of
character assassination to which he is being subjected.
The passage of time has permitted Mr. Trump to continue to
beat up, defame and generally vilify SGT Bergdahl most unfairly.
The Court should set the case down for hearing in December.
We made a similar motion yesterday in No. 16-0119/AR.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Eugene R. Fidell
Eugene R. Fidell
CAAF Bar No. 13979
Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
1129 20th Street, N.W., Ste. 400
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 256-8675 (cellphone)
efidell@ftlf.com
Civilian Defense Counsel
/s/ Franklin D. Rosenblatt
Franklin D. Rosenblatt
Lieutenant Colonel, JA
CAAF Bar No. 36564
U.S. Army Trial Defense Service
9275 Gunston Road, Suite 3100
Fort Belvoir, VA 22060
franklin.d.rosenblatt.mil@mail.mil
(703) 693-0283
Individual Military Counsel
/s/ Alfredo N. Foster, Jr.
Alfredo N. Foster, Jr.
Captain, JA
CAAF Bar No. 36628
U.S. Army Trial Defense Service
Ft. Sam Houston

Joint Base San Antonio, TX 78234

alfredo.n.foster.mil@mail.mil
(210) 295-9742
Detailed Defense Counsel
/s/ Jonathan F. Potter
Jonathan F. Potter
Lieutenant Colonel, JA
CAAF Bar No. 26450
Defense Appellate Division
jonathan.f.potter3.mil@mail.mil
(703) 695-9853
Appellate Defense Counsel
Certificate of Filing and Service
I certify that I have, this 21st day of November, 2015
filed and served the foregoing motion by emailing copies to the
Clerk of Court and all counsel at the following email addresses:
efiling@armfor.uscourts.gov
jihan.e.walker.mil@mail.mil
usarmy.pentagon.hqda-otjag.mbx.usalsa-gad@mail.mil
dibarguen@hearst.com (Diego Ibarguen, Hearst et al.)
jbishop@hearst.com (Jennifer D. Bishop, Hearst et al.)
shayana.kadidal@gmail.com (Shayana Kadidal, CCR)
rvanlandingham@swlaw.edu (Rachel VanLandingham, NIMJ)
mljucmj@court-martial.com (Philip D. Cave, NIMJ)
daniel.kummer@nbcuni.com (Daniel Kummer, NBC)
Eugene R. Fidell
Civilian Defense Counsel