Bowe Bergdahl’s Sentence Is Thrown Out by Judge as Case Takes New Turn – By Patricia Kime (Military.com) / July 25, 2023
A federal judge has voided former Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s court-martial sentence and subsequent rulings on the case by military judges, setting up the possibility that he could request a reinstatement of rank or change of status for his dishonorable discharge.
Senior Judge Reggie Walton, of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., issued an order Tuesday that partially granted the federal government’s motion to dismiss the Bergdahl case. But Walton ruled in favor of Bergdahl’s argument that the Army judge in his case failed to disclose a possible conflict of interest — that he had applied for a civilian position at the Justice Department while presiding over the court-martial.
As a result of his decision, Walton decided to vacate all orders and rulings issued by the judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, as of Oct. 16, 2017 — the day Bergdahl pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and the day Nance applied for a position as a federal immigration judge.
Walton also vacated all subsequent decisions by appellate military courts in the case.
