DC Circuit rules soldier’s desertion court-martial was wrongfully revoked

A D.C. Circuit panel ruled that a federal judge lacked authority to vacate Robert 'Bowe' Bergdahl's 2017 court-martial conviction for desertion, finding that Article III courts don't have jurisdiction to void military tribunal judgments directly. Bergdahl left his Afghanistan post in 2009, was captured and held by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network for five years, and was returned in a 2014 prisoner swap approved by President Obama.

Bergdahl had argued his conviction was tainted by unlawful command influence after both Senator John McCain and then-candidate Donald Trump publicly attacked him, with Trump calling him a traitor and suggesting execution. Military judges at the time found the comments 'disturbing' but not disqualifying since they were made before Trump held office.

The panel, which included judges appointed by Obama, Bush, and Trump, sent the case back to the district court with instructions to dismiss it, leaving Bergdahl's dishonorable discharge and pay forfeiture intact.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.