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Bergdahl Case Delayed Over Classified Information Dispute


U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl leaves the courthouse after an arraignment hearing for his court-martial in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on December 22, 2015.
U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl leaves the courthouse after an arraignment hearing for his court-martial in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on December 22, 2015.

Legal proceedings in the military desertion case against U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl were halted on February 9 amid a dispute over defense access to classified documents.

The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeal delayed the case against Bergdahl, who walked off an outpost in Afghanistan in 2009, after prosecutors asked the court to overturn a decision by the trial judge providing the defense with access to nearly 300,000 pages of classified documents.

The trial judge, Colonel Jeffery Nance, ordered prosecutors last week to turn over many of the classified documents they had gathered, subject to certain rules.

The defense had argued that prosecutors wanted them to follow a cumbersome process of seeking classified information in preparation for the trial.

The issue has been debated for weeks in pretrial motions and e-mails between the sides. It wasn't clear how long the trial -- tentatively scheduled for this summer -- could be held up while the prosecution's appeal unfolds.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
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