lawsuits

Mark Boal Sues Federal Government Over Bowe Bergdahl Tapes

Mark Boal and Bowe Bergdahl. Photo: Getty Images

Perhaps fearing that the first season of Serial was sucking up all the courtroom drama, filmmaker Mark Boal filed a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, seeking to prevent the government from subpoenaing his interviews with former POW Bowe Bergdahl for Bergdahl’s upcoming military trial. The Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter recorded more than 20 hours of interviews with Bergdahl after his release in 2014, audio that became the basis of Serial’s second season. As the lawsuit puts it, “Issuance and enforcement of the Subpoena would force Boal to decide between facing a contempt certification in a military court in North Carolina … or sacrificing his work and his constitutional and common law rights and become the arm of a military prosecutor.â€Â President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, Army Secretary Eric Fanning, Army court-martial convening authority General Robert Abrams, and U.S Army Prosecutor Major Justin Oshana are all named as defendants in the suit.

Mark Boal Sues Federal Gov’t Over Bergdahl Tapes