WASHINGTON -- Republican lawmakers tore into U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's reputation on Wednesday, suggesting that he had cozied up to the enemy during his time in Afghanistan.
Leading the charge during a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing was Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Cotton asked retired Spc. Cody Full, who served alongside Bergdahl, if it was "curious" that Bergdahl had been asking his Afghan friends how to find the Taliban.
"If Private Bergdahl left his post and intended, as you say, to wander across the mountains, perhaps to India, do you think it's curious that he would be asking his friends in Afghanistan where the Taliban is?" asked Cotton. (Bergdahl was a private when he disappeared and was promoted during the time he was listed as "Missing-Captured.")
The lawmaker also wondered whether the enemy had suddenly become better at targeting Bergdahl's unit after he vanished.
Cotton, who completed two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan himself, prefaced the former question by noting that it is commonplace for soldiers to engage in conversation or spend time with local civilians. He also said that Bergdahl had the right to a trial.
Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) followed Cotton's lead, suggesting that Bergdahl intentionally left his post to meet with members of the Taliban.
"While I get some folks saying, 'Well, we need to wait to have this adjudicated in court,' and I understand the idea of that, the reality is that we know Sgt. Bergdahl left his post," Kinzinger said.
DeSantis added that "everyone that served with" Bergdahl said he left his post that day.
Watch the clip above.
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