Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has waived his right to a trial by a jury, and instead will put his fate exclusively in the hands of the judge who will hear his case.
Bergdahl’s decision was made clear in court documents filed by his attorneys, according to the Associated Press.
Bergdahl stands accused of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by leaving his post while on duty in Afghanistan in 2009. His trial is slated for October at Fort Bragg. One of the charges he’s facing carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban in 2009 after he left his post. In 2014, the sergeant became a political football of sorts after President Obama secured Bergdahl’s release in exchange for five detainees held by the United States. The swap to free Bergdahl was widely debated by elected officials at the time.
Defense attorneys were prohibited from asking potential jurors if they had voted for President Trump, which may have been key to the decision to forgo a jury trial.
As a candidate in 2016, Trump was unrestrained in his criticisms of Bergdahl, and called him a “dirty, rotten traitor” who would have been shot 30 years ago.
