The judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, had wide discretion in determining a sentence for Bergdahl, who walked off his military post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years. He could have given him anything from no prison time to life in prison. …Is this Nance an Obamaite officer? He had the nerve to bring Trump into his judging, which may be criminal in and of itself.
Probably, the defense knew the history of this Colonel as being very lenient.
Bergdahl Chooses Military Judge Over Jury In Desertion Trial
By Dianna Cahn, Stars and Stripes
on August 22, 2017
Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant accused of desertion in Afghanistan, has chosen to be tried by a judge rather than a military jury.
In a sparse one-line filing this week, Bergdahl’s lawyers told the court that he prefers a military judge. The accused has the right to make that choice.
His lead attorney Eugene Fidell confirmed the decision, but declined to comment.
The decision was made after the return of questionnaires submitted by Bergdahl’s defense team to prospective jurors. In June, the Army judge overseeing the case, Col. Jeffrey R. Nance, granted the defense permission to submit a private 41-question survey to each potential juror about President Donald Trump. Nance denied the defense its request to include a question asking whether they voted for Trump.
The lawyers said they wanted to ensure that their client receives a fair trial in the wake of more than 60 disparaging remarks Trump made about Bergdahl during 2015-2016 election campaign. In speeches and rallies, Trump called Bergdahl “a dirty, rotten traitor” and said he should be executed or sent back to his captors.
http://taskandpurpose.com/bergdahl-chooses-military-judge-jury-desertion-trial/