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 Bergdahl, 29, was charged earlier this year with desertion and
endangering U.S. troops and could face the life sentence if
convicted of the latter, more serious offense.
In ordering the court martial on Monday, Army General Robert Abrams
did not follow the recommendation of a preliminary hearing which,
according to Bergdahl's lawyer, called for Bergdahl to face a
proceeding that could impose a potential maximum penalty of a year
in confinement.
Bergdahl's lawyer, Eugene Fidell, said the defense team "had hoped
the case would not go in this direction."
He also urged Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who
has called Bergdahl a "dirty, rotten traitor," to "cease his
prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against our client."
In a later interview on Monday, Fidell also criticized members of
Congress for publicly saying they were closely monitoring the
outcome of the case.
 Sen. John McCain, who chairs a committee that oversees promotions of
senior military officers, said last month that he would hold a
hearing on the case if Bergdahl was not punished.
The senior general who will ultimately decide Bergdahl’s fate is
expected to come before McCain’s committee in the future for his
next promotion.
“I think the politicization of everything surrounding this case is
very disturbing,” Fidell said. “And the willingness of members of
the... Senate to interfere with the adjudication of a pending
criminal case is appalling.”
Bergdahl disappeared on foot on June 30, 2009, from Combat Outpost
Mest-Malak in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and was subsequently
captured by the Taliban.
He left his post to draw attention to "leadership failure" in his
unit, Bergdahl said last week on the popular podcast Serial, which
is focusing a season on his case.
The Idaho native suffered torture, abuse and neglect at the hands of
Taliban forces, including months of beatings, and confinement for
3-1/2 years in a metal cage barely big enough to stand in, a
military expert testified previously.
The head of the Army team that investigated Bergdahl has said he
does not believe he should face jail time.
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The official search for Bergdahl lasted 45 days, but the United
States spent years trying to determine his whereabouts and bring him
home.
He was freed in a prisoner swap in May 2014 that sent five Taliban
leaders held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay to Qatar, where
they had to remain for a year. The deal drew heavy criticism from
Republicans.
Major General Kenneth Dahl, who led the military's investigation of
Bergdahl's case, testified at a military probable cause hearing in
September that Bergdahl was not a Taliban sympathizer and no
soldiers directly involved in the search for him were killed.
Jeff Addicott, an Army officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps
for 20 years and a law professor at St. Mary's University, said
Bergdahl, who has been stationed at a base in San Antonio, Texas,
may now be confined to his base.
"He is going to be watched very closely now because he has left his
place of duty before in a combat zone and he may try to do it
again," he said.
Bergdahl may also seek to have his case heard by a judge instead of
a panel of military personnel, which would likely include members
who were deployed in Afghanistan, he said.
The date of Bergdahl's arraignment hearing at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, will be announced later, the Army said. U.S. military
prosecutors did not comment on Monday's decision.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in
San Antonio, David Alexander in Washington, and David Rohde in New
York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Clive McKeef)
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