Appeals Court Reinstates Bowe Bergdahl’s Military Conviction

DID Press: A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that a lower federal judge lacked the authority to overturn the military conviction of former Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, effectively restoring the judgment against him for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that federal district courts do not have jurisdiction to vacate court-martial judgments through collateral review. The court therefore overturned a 2023 lower-court decision that had declared parts of Bergdahl’s military proceedings void.

Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan in 2009 without authorization while deployed there. According to court records, he said he intended to reach headquarters to raise concerns about conditions and leadership within his unit. He was subsequently captured by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network and held captive for nearly five years.

In 2014, Bergdahl was released in a controversial prisoner exchange approved by then-President Barack Obama in return for five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

Bergdahl later pleaded guilty at a court-martial to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The military judge sentenced him to a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank and financial penalties, rather than the lengthy prison term sought by prosecutors.

The latest ruling does not re-examine the underlying facts of Bergdahl’s case. Instead, it focuses on jurisdiction, finding that the federal district court lacked the legal authority to vacate a military court-martial judgment.