A former U.S. Army soldier who pleaded guilty to desertion after leaving his post while deployed in Afghanistan and was subsequently captured and tortured by the Taliban had his court-martial conviction vacated Tuesday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington D.C. said that military judge Jeffrey Nance, who presided over the court-martial of Bowe Bergdahl, failed to disclose that he had applied to the executive branch for a job as an immigration judge, creating a potential conflict of interest…

“This case presents a unique situation where the military judge might be inclined to appeal to the president’s expressed interest in the plaintiff’s conviction and punishment when applying for the immigration judge position,” Walton wrote.