Judge Vacates Bowe Bergdahl’s Conviction and Dishonorable Discharge
A federal judge on Tuesday wiped out the conviction and sentence of Bowe Bergdahl, the former Army sergeant who walked off a base in Afghanistan in 2009 only to be held captive by the Taliban for five years, and whose release in a prisoner swap prompted intense controversy.
In a 63-page ruling, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia vacated all the court-martial proceedings against Sergeant Bergdahl after October 2017. At the time, the military judge in the case, Jeffery R. Nance, then an Army colonel, applied for a job with the Justice Department under President Donald J. Trump, a step he did not disclose. Mr. Trump had repeatedly railed against the sergeant, calling him a traitor and suggesting that he be executed.
The ruling could lead to a second trial before a new judge. After Sergeant Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and to endangering the American troops sent to search for him, Colonel Nance reduced his rank to private and ordered him dishonorably discharged, although he did not sentence him to prison.
Eugene R. Fidell, a lawyer for Sergeant Bergdahl, called the decision “an important victory,” but said it was not yet clear how the military or his client would proceed, including whether either side will appeal.
Source: The New York Times
