After Three Previous Tries, New Bowe Bergdahl Trial Date Could Be Set

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives for a pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Army sought to have U.S. Sen. John McCain back away from statements about punishment for Bowe Bergdahl because of concerns about hurting the soldier’s right to a fair trial, according to newly released emails. The emails were revealed in a motion filed Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, seeking the dismissal of charges against Bergdahl, who walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and wound up in enemy captivity for five years. (AP Photo/Ted Richardson, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives for a pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Army sought to have U.S. Sen. John McCain back away from statements about punishment for Bowe B... FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives for a pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Army sought to have U.S. Sen. John McCain back away from statements about punishment for Bowe Bergdahl because of concerns about hurting the soldier’s right to a fair trial, according to newly released emails. The emails were revealed in a motion filed Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, seeking the dismissal of charges against Bergdahl, who walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and wound up in enemy captivity for five years. (AP Photo/Ted Richardson, File) MORE LESS

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — 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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