Bowe Bergdahl

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Bowe Bergdahl's Desertion Conviction Vacated by Judge

She found issues with military judge who presided over court-martial

(Newser) - A federal judge on Tuesday vacated the military conviction of Bowe Bergdahl, a former US Army soldier who pleaded guilty to desertion after he left his post and was captured in Afghanistan and tortured by the Taliban, the AP reports. The ruling from US District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington...

Bowe Bergdahl Names Trump, McCain in Lawsuit

He accuses them of 'scandalous meddling' in his court-martial

(Newser) - Bowe Bergdahl is suing the United States over his 2017 court-martial conviction , which he blames on "scandalous meddling" from late Sen. John McCain and former President Trump. In the civil lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, the former soldier, who was held hostage by the Taliban for five years...

Soldier Shot in Search for Bergdahl Dies 10 Years Later

Master Sgt. Mark Allen never recovered from injury

(Newser) - A soldier shot in the head while searching for Bowe Bergdahl a decade ago has died. Master Sgt. Mark Allen was left paralyzed in much of his body and unable to speak after he was shot during a 2009 insurgent ambush in Afghanistan, CNN reports. The 46-year-old from Loganville, Ga....

Bergdahl Avoids Prison; Trump Calls It a 'Disgrace'

Soldier will get a dishonorable discharge for abandoning his post

(Newser) - He faced life in prison, but Bowe Bergdahl will serve no jail time at all for abandoning his military post in Afghanistan and endangering the troops sent to search for him. Instead, he will receive a dishonorable discharge, the New York Times reports. The military judge in the case also...

Agents: Bergdahl Debriefs Were Intelligence 'Gold Mine'

Soldier charged with desertion helped military better understand insurgents

(Newser) - Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was a "gold mine" of intelligence, helping the military better understand insurgents and how they imprison the enemy, two agents testified Tuesday as defense attorneys sought to show the soldier's contributions since he was returned in a prisoner swap. The AP reports the testimony...

What Bergdahl Said in His Unexpected Testimony

He took the stand at sentencing hearing Monday

(Newser) - In an unexpected and emotional statement, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl apologized in court Monday to all the military personnel who were wounded searching for him and described the daily nightmares and flashbacks to his five years in captivity by Taliban allies he still endures. Bergdahl was the first witness in...

Bergdahl Won't Be Let Off Hook Over Trump's Comments

Judge rules court hasn't been directly affected by Trump's criticism of Bergdahl

(Newser) - A military judge has rejected arguments by attorneys for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl that criticism by President Trump is preventing him from having a fair sentencing hearing. The AP reports the judge, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, said Monday the court has not been directly affected by Trump's criticism of...

At Bergdahl's Sentencing, Those Forever Harmed by Search to Speak

Sentencing hearing pushed to Wednesday due to lawyer's family emergency

(Newser) - Can two days feel as excruciatingly long as five years? Ask Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was supposed to learn his fate on Monday after pleading guilty last week to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. CNN reports his sentencing hearing has been pushed to Wednesday because of a family emergency...

Bergdahl May Have 'Hopelessly Misread' His Situation

He gave interviews to a journalist who was himself a former Taliban hostage

(Newser) - On Monday Bowe Bergdahl learns his fate, which will come at the hands of a military judge. Bergdahl pleaded guilty last Monday to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy for walking off his military base in Afghanistan in 2009, and he faces five years for the former and up to...

Bergdahl Pleads Guilty: Will Judge Go Easy?

Army sergeant admits to desertion for walking off base in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty Monday to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy for walking off his military base in Afghanistan back in 2009. The big question now is how long of a sentence he'll receive. The AP doesn't think his legal team struck a deal to...

Guilty Plea Expected From Bergdahl, No Trial

Army sergeant faces possibility of life in prison

(Newser) - Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for half a decade after abandoning his Afghanistan post, is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, two individuals with knowledge of the case tell the AP . Bergdahl's decision to plead guilty rather...

Bergdahl's Fate Will Solely Be in Judge's Hands

Chooses to have trial heard by judge alone

(Newser) - Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has decided to be tried by a judge—not a military jury—on charges that he endangered comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan. Bergdahl's lawyers told the court in a brief filing last week that their client chose trial by judge alone, rather...

Judge Won't Chuck Bergdahl Case Over Trump's Comments

Trump called him a 'dirty, rotten traitor'

(Newser) - President Trump's campaign-trail criticism of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, while "problematic," hasn't prevented the soldier from getting a fair trial on charges that he endangered comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009, a military judge ruled Friday. Bergdahl's lawyers had argued that...

Bergdahl: I Can't Get a Fair Trial Under Trump

Attorneys file motion to dismiss

(Newser) - Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl faces an Army court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior for allegedly walking out on his post in Afghanistan in 2009, and now that Donald Trump is president, the 30-year-old says he won't get a fair trial. His attorneys filed a motion to dismiss shortly after...

Bergdahl Seeks Pardon Before Trump Presidency

He thanks Obama, asks for clemency

(Newser) - Bowe Bergdahl doesn't want his case to go to trial under a president who has called him a "no-good traitor who should have been executed." After Donald Trump won the election, the Army sergeant's lawyers asked President Obama for a pre-emptive pardon before Bergdahl's trial...

Documents Give Full Account of Why Bergdahl Walked Off

'It was a self-sacrifice thing'

(Newser) - Newly released documents provide the most complete account yet of why Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl says he left a post in Afghanistan in 2009: to draw attention to what he saw as bad decisions by officers above him. The documents include a transcript of an interview Bergdahl gave to a...

Bowe Bergdahl Lawyers Want to Talk to Trump

Defense thinks he can't get a fair trial with the candidate talking trash

(Newser) - Attorneys for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl said Saturday they may seek a deposition from Donald Trump or call him as a witness, saying they fear his comments could affect their client's right to a fair trial. Bergdahl's attorney Army Lt. Col. Franklin Rosenblatt asked Trump in a letter...

Bowe Bergdahl Diagnosed With Schizophrenia-like Mental Disorder

'The ball was dropped'

(Newser) - For the first time, we know what "severe mental disease or defect" Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl may have been suffering from when he decided to walk away from an Army base in Afghanistan in 2009, the Washington Post reports. The condition is known as schizotypal personality disorder. It's similar...

Bergdahl Heads for General Court-Martial, Could Get Life

Ruling general ignored recommendation Bergdahl go before 'special' military court

(Newser) - A lawyer for Bowe Bergdahl , the US soldier accused of deserting his Army post in Afghanistan in 2009 before being captured and held by the Taliban for almost five years, says his client will stand trial before a general court-martial, Reuters reports. Despite the advice of a preliminary-hearing officer that...

New Season of Serial Lands, Starring Bergdahl

Podcast will examine why he left his post in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The rumors were true : Bowe Bergdahl is the focus of the second season of Sarah Koenig's podcast Serial, which helped reopen the case of convicted killer Adnan Syed. In the first season, the question was "Did he do it?" This time around, it's "Why did Bergdahl...

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