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Judge lacked power to overturn ex-soldier Bowe Bergdahl’s military conviction, appeals court rules

The panel said only military tribunals can vacate court-martial judgments, and ordered Bergdahl’s district court case dismissed after his 2021 lawsuit.

  • On Tuesday, the Columbia Circuit ruled that a federal judge lacked authority to vacate Bowe Bergdahl's military conviction for desertion, ordering the dismissal of Bergdahl's claims in District.
  • In June 2009, Bergdahl deserted his post in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, while a 23-year-old soldier, after which Taliban-affiliated Haqqani forces abducted him and held him captive for five years.
  • District Judge Reggie Walton had previously vacated the conviction, citing a conflict of interest involving military judge Jeffrey Nance, but the Court concluded that only military tribunals hold authority to vacate a court-martial judgment.
  • The three-judge panel, including Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, and Circuit Judges Robert Wilkins, ordered the dismissal as Bergdahl had sued in 2021, arguing his Fifth Amendment due-process rights were violated.
  • Prosecutors at the court-martial sought 14 years in prison after Bergdahl pleaded guilty in 2017 to desertion; Eugene Fidell, one of Bergdahl's lawyers, did not immediately respond to comment on Wednesday.
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RedState broke the news in Camarillo, United States on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
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