"Well, I can't comment on on Bowe Bergdahl because he's - as you know, they're - I guess he's doing something today, as we know. Here's what then-President Trump said about Bergdahl during a Rose Garden news conference on Oct. John McCain had been vocal critics of Bergdahl and the way former President Barack Obama's administration handled his rescue and prosecution, prompting Bergdahl's team to file motions alleging unlawful command influence - which, as NPR's Greg Myre explained, "means quite simply the commanders can't influence legal cases or even appear to do so."ĭiscussing Bergdahl during his campaign, Trump repeatedly noted that deserters used to be shot and called Bergdahl a variety of names. On that one day, court records show, Bergdahl pleaded guilty Trump evoked calls he made as a presidential candidate for Bergdahl to face stiff punishment and Nance applied to be an immigration judge in Trump's Justice Department.īefore taking office, both Trump and the late Sen. That date is important for several reasons. Walton vacated "all orders and rulings issued by the military judge who presided over court-martial as of October 16, 2017, and thereafter." The timing of the judge's actions are crucial The federal court ruling gives Bergdahl "a clean slate," Fidell said. And under the law, Walton said, the appearance of partiality alone is enough to void Nance's rulings. Walton said he didn't find any sign that Nance showed "actual bias" in his handling of the case, but he said the judge "affirmatively misled" Bergdahl's lawyers when he discussed retiring from the bench rather than pursuing other posts. In 2017, he received a dishonorable discharge in lieu of a prison sentence - but that punishment is now revoked. "Yesterday was a very good day for the rule of law, and it was a good day for Sergeant Bergdahl," Bergdahl's attorney, Eugene Fidell, told NPR.īergdahl previously admitted to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, charges related to leaving his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and being captured by the Taliban. District Judge Reggie Walton, who on Tuesday vacated the former soldier's court-martial conviction and sentence that were overseen by former military judge Jeffrey Nance. In 2017, a military judge told attorneys in Bowe Bergdahl's court-martial case that he was impervious to pressure from then-President Donald Trump - but he made a crucial omission: one week earlier, the judge had applied for a new job in the Trump administration.
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