Appeals Court Restores Bergdahl's Desertion Conviction

Bergdahl, then a 23-year-old soldier from Hailey, Idaho, walks off his post near Afghanistan's Paktika Province without permission, saying he intended to hike to headquarters to complain about leadership in his unit. He is captured by fighters from the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network and, by his account, repeatedly tortured.

Bergdahl is released after nearly five years in captivity in a prisoner exchange that Donald Trump and others attacked sharply during Trump's first presidential campaign. Several U.S. service members were wounded during the search for him.

Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and receives a dishonorable discharge. Prosecutors had sought 14 years in prison.

Bergdahl sues in federal court, arguing his Fifth Amendment due-process rights were violated.

Judge Walton sets aside the conviction and sentence, finding that military judge Jeffrey Nance created a potential conflict of interest by failing to disclose that he had applied to become an immigration judge at the Justice Department.

The D.C. Circuit panel reverses, ordering the case dismissed.