FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the military case against Bowe Bergdahl (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
A military judge says he has settled on an October trial date for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on charges that he endangered his comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
Army Col. Jeffery Nance says he intends to start jury selection Oct. 16 and begin the trial in earnest on Oct. 23. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers indicated that the date worked for them.
It’s been nearly three years since Bergdahl was released from captivity and his case has had numerous delays over the exchange of classified information.
The military recently set up computers that allow defense lawyers to review sensitive material.
Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, was held by the Taliban and its allies about five years. He is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
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7:30 a.m.
A military judge in North Carolina could set a new timetable for the desertion case against Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl at a pre-trial hearing nearly three years after the soldier’s return from captivity.
The judge already has scratched three previous trial dates amid delays over the exchange of classified information between prosecutors and defense lawyers. That process is expected to be a focus of Friday’s hearing at Fort Bragg.
Bergdahl’s trial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy was most recently scheduled for April, but the judge postponed it indefinitely.
Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, left his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban and its allies about five years.
The military investigation of Bergdahl began after he was freed May 31, 2014, in exchange for five Taliban prisoners.
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