The Obama administration’s prosecutors withheld critical evidence from SSG Bales’s defense team, legal authorities, and medical experts, which would likely have changed the outcome of his trial. This tactic, often employed by overzealous Army prosecutors, who effectively game the military justice system.
The Obama administration’s prosecutors withheld critical evidence from SSG Bales’s defense team, legal authorities, and medical experts, which would likely have changed the outcome of his trial. This tactic, often employed by overzealous Army prosecutors, who effectively game the military justice system.
The prosecutors aligned the United States Government with —’Taliban bombmakers’— using them as witnesses during the Article 32 hearing to gain the death penalty and then flew 9 Afghans in to testify against Bales during sentencing. They failed to disclose that the DNA from five had been found on IEDs used against Americans, i.e. they were enemy combatants.
A FOIA revealed prosecutors worked with the State Department to conceal identities of these Taliban and placed them on Delta Airlines flights, among unaware U.S. civilians.
The Army further suppressed evidence that SSG Bales was ordered to take mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug known to cause paranoid delusions and persecutory thoughts due to damage to brain stem tissue. These poisonous effects were exacerbated by SSG Bales’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which were caused by ten IED blasts and years of combat exposure. Had this evidence been presented, it could have significantly altered the outcome of his trial.
SSG Bales’s case is the first of its kind in the military, marked by a strong presumption of guilt and unlawful command influence prior to any investigation. The case was highly publicized and politicized, with President Obama and Secretary of Defense Panetta pushing for aggressive prosecution, even suggesting the death penalty before charges were filed.
The Obama administration failed to conduct a proper investigation, including identifying and analyzing the victims through forensic methods, instead relying solely on the Taliban’s account, which falsely stated that only women, children, and elderly civilians were killed.
The State Department and Army prosecution flew known Taliban bomb makers into the U.S. to testify against SSG Bales and later funded their visit to Sea World.
President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan led to over 1,800 ISIS-K fighters, and dozens of Al-Qaeda terrorists, being released from the Bagram prison and returning to a hero’s welcome in their countries. These terrorists were motivated by hatred and have intentionally committed the most heinous atrocities and war crimes imaginable against civilians. Yet, they are free to continue their jihad against Western Civilization, and many have returned to the fight. The Taliban are even now in control of Afghanistan.
In stark contrast, SSG Robert Bales has shown a strong commitment to self-improvement, earning a Bachelor’s degree in from Ohio University (2018) and a Master’s degree from California Coast University (2024), along with graduating from the USDB Barber College. He completed rehabilitation programs, organized prison sports leagues and even helped his children do their homework.