The retired Army officer
who told Fox News Channel Monday that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion and that the White House is trying to keep it out of the news says he stands by his words.
Lt. Col. Tony Schaffer returned to Fox News Channel's
"The O'Reilly Factor" on Tuesday after the
Pentagon earlier in the day denied his claims. NBC News also reported it had found a second source that confirmed Schaffer's claims.
"I stand by all of those facts," Schaffer said Tuesday, adding that Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby's words to the press and the Pentagon's written statements don't deny anything he said was in the report on Bergdahl, which was completed in October, but hasn't been released publicly.
"They're being very careful how they parse their words, and I think there's reasons why," Schaffer said. "I do stand by the fact that my understanding is that Bergdahl's lawyer has been given a statement of charges, a charge sheet that says this is what to expect.
Kirby said today that there is no time limit on when U.S. Army Forces Command General Mark Milley will make his decision, and that there is no timetable for him to make a decision.
"What they didn't say is almost more compelling than what they said in their denial," Schaffer said.
Bergdahl walked away from his camp in Afghanistan in June 2009 and was captured by the Taliban. He was held for five years until he was traded for five Taliban leaders being held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay last summer.
The trade of Bergdahl for the five Taliban leaders has sparked criticism, including from some of Bergdahl's own platoonmates.
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