Blog Archives
Manning Judge Does Not Dismiss “Aiding the Enemy” Charge
Bradley Manning‘s Attorney David Coombs argues a motion in front of Judge Denise Lind at Fort Meade, Md. July 15, 2013 (Art: Kay Rudin/RSN)
Judge Denise Lind did not dismiss the “Aiding the Enemy” charge against Bradley Manning, stating that the Army did present evidence that Manning should have known, based on his training, that the enemy would be able to access the information he released to Wikileaks. She also stated that evidence was presented that Manning did know that the enemy could use the SIGACTS (mapping of incidents in a region) he leaked in the same manner that the Army uses them.
Judge Lind read into the record the evidence that she determined met the elements for the charge. If the Judge gives weight to that evidence when she enters her final verdict at the conclusion of the case, it does not look good for Manning or Press Freedom in America. The result would be chilling for whistleblowers or anyone who publishes information on the internet that could be used by the “enemy.”
Manning has already pleaded guilty to illegal use of information that he had the right to access. The chilling issue here is that with no contact with the enemy, Manning could serve life in prison without the possibility for parole. Bradley Manning did not give the information to an enemy of the United States, he gave it to the media.
Even if you don’t believe Wikileaks is the media, Judge Lind asked the Army on two occasions the following: If the documents were released to The New York Times and not Wikileaks would you still have brought the same charges? The Army’s response on both occasions was “Yes Ma’am.” So precedent that would be set here with a guilty verdict is that providing information to any media organization can result in a conviction for aiding the enemy.
Where is the line? How often have we all crossed it?
via OpEdNews – Article: BREAKING: Manning Judge Does Not Dismiss “Aiding the Enemy” Charge.
Bradley Manning – What the Papers are saying
Bradley Manning WikiLeaks Court-Martial Enters Third Week Huffington Post BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Prosecutors are moving quickly through the court-martial of Pfc.Bradley Manning. The former Army intelligence analyst is charged with aiding the enemy. He has acknowledged sending reams of government secrets to … See all stories on this topic » |
Bradley Manning’s Trial, Day 7 (Live Updates) Firedoglake I think there’ll be a ruling from the judge on the admissibility of the 2009 WikiLeaks “Most Wanted” list. Numerous stipulations of testimony are expected in military court at Fort Meade during the seventh day of Pfc. Bradley Manning’s trial. The focus … See all stories on this topic » |
WikiLeaks trial focuses Army email list KTAR.com … email addresses an Army private allegedly downloaded to a personal computer could be used by foreign adversaries to launch cyberattacks on service members, a government witness said Monday as the trial of Pfc. Bradley Manning entered its third week. See all stories on this topic » |
Belfast anti-G8 protesters show support for Bradley Manning Belfast Telegraph Comments. Email; Print; Font Size. Protesters opposed to next week’s G8 meeting of world leaders have held up placards spelling out the name of US soldier Bradley Manning, suspected of passing classified information to website Wikileaks. Comments. See all stories on this topic » |
Julian Assange Lawsuit Over Bradley Manning Secrecy Argued In Federal Court Huffington Post BALTIMORE — Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange duked it out in federal court on Monday with the government over whether the press and public have enough access to records in the court-martial of Bradley Manning, the Army private first class … See all stories on this topic » |
Dispute over documents in the case of Bradley Manning heads to federal court … Washington Post BALTIMORE — A dispute over public access to court records in the military trial of Pfc. Bradley Manning is moving from a military court to a civilian one. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights initially petitioned an army court in 2012 … See all stories on this topic » |
Manning list ‘could prompt attacks’ Belfast Telegraph … of troop names and email addresses a US army private allegedly downloaded to a personal computer could be used by foreign adversaries to launch cyber attacks on service members, a government witness said as the trial of Bradley Manning entered its … See all stories on this topic » |
Public access fight over Manning docs in Md. court The Seattle Times Public access fight over Manning docs in Md. court. A government lawyer said Monday the U.S. Army has released the vast majority of court records in Pfc. Bradley Manning’s case and told a civilian judge the dispute over the records had become moot. See all stories on this topic » |
Maryland: Manning Trial Looks at Address Disclosures New York Times Prosecutors laid the groundwork on Monday for trying to prove that Pfc. Bradley Manning gave WikiLeaks the e-mail addresses of more than 70,000 troops deployed in Iraq, a charge to which he has pleaded not guilty. As Private Manning’s trial at Fort … See all stories on this topic » |
Manning’s WikiLeaks trial enters 3rd week Times of India FORT MEADE, Maryland: The trial of Bradley Manning now focuses on leaked documents related to the US prison at Guantanamo Bay. The former Army intelligence analyst is charged with aiding the enemy. He has acknowledged sending thousands of … See all stories on this topic » |
Oliver Stone Calls Edward Snowden a Hero Hollywood Reporter Stone went on to praise the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and whistle blower Bradley Manning. He condemned president Barack Obama’s administration for prosecuting six whistleblower cases despite campaign promises of a more progressive … See all stories on this topic » |
WikiLeaks Founder Goes To Court For Access To Bradley Manning Trial Docs Bayoubuzz Physical access to hearings has not been at issue, but the military judge overseeing the case, Col. Denise Lind, has kept transcripts and crucial court motions locked away. The secrecy prompted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, along with other … See all stories on this topic » |
David Brooks, Tom Friedman, Bill Keller Wish Snowden Had Just Followed Orders Huffington Post Manning was not working out as a soldier, and they discussed keeping him back when his unit was deployed to Iraq,” biographer Chase Madar writes in The Passion of Bradley Manning. “However, in the fall of 2009, the occupation was desperate for … See all stories on this topic » |
Stand With Snowden! Free Bradley Manning! Close Guantánamo! Scoop.co.nz (press release) Activists supporting whistleblowers Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden, and calling for the closure of the U.S. prison at Guantánamo, will demonstrate at Senator Feinstein’s office in reply to Feinstein’s remarks accusing Edward Snowden of “treason … See all stories on this topic » |
Public Access Fight Over Manning Docs in Maryland Court The Epoch Times This undated photo released Tuesday, June 4, 2013 by the U.S. Army shows a noose Pfc. Bradley Manning made from a bedsheet while he was being detained in Kuwait shortly after his arrest in May 2010. The photo was presented as evidence at a hearing … See all stories on this topic » |
NOW PLAYING AT ART THEATRE: ‘We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks’ Long Beach Post History will forever link WikiLeaks and PFC Bradley Manning, and We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLinks will be one of the defining documents on this binary system, jointly responsible for history’s biggest leak of state secrets. And while writer … See all stories on this topic » |
Legal Events to Watch This Week Wall Street Journal (blog) This week: The trials of James “Whitey” Bulger, George Zimmerman and Bradley Manningcontinue, and the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to deliver a blockbuster or two. Monday, June 17. • The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue orders and opinions. See all stories on this topic » |
Medina Roshan, REUTERS Welland Tribune U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning enters the courtroom for day four of his court martial at Fort Meade, Maryland in this June 10, 2013, file photo. 12, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/Files. Tweet · Bookmark and Share. Change text size for the … See all stories on this topic » |
Manning’s WikiLeaks court-martial enters third week SCNow Posted: Monday, June 17, 2013 6:46 am. Manning’s WikiLeaks court-martial enters third week Associated Press |. FORT MEADE, Md. — Prosecutors are moving quickly through the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning. The former Army intelligence analyst is … See all stories on this topic » |
Why do people lie and why do others believe them? Newsroom Panama Meanwhile the names of Bradley Manning, Robert Snowden and Julian Assange are known around the world as whistle blowers extraordinaire , hailed by millions, hated by authorities. We are bombarded with lies every day from politicians, advertisers, … See all stories on this topic » |
WikiLeaks breach included secret details on Guantanamo prisoners: official WHTC Data released by Private First Class Bradley Manning included biographical material on Guantanamo prisoners, details of their religious affiliation, and names of their relatives with extremist links, Rear Admiral David Woods, who ran the Guantanamo … See all stories on this topic » |
Coalition bipartisan on treatment of Assange Manning River Times But she added that the trial of US Army private Bradley Manning might “cast further light on whether WikiLeaks breached any US laws in obtaining that information”. Mr Assange has lived at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for a year, having been granted … See all stories on this topic » |
Oliver Stone Says Edward Snowden Is a Hero Hollywood Reporter Stone went on to praise WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, and condemned President Barack Obama’s adminstration for prosecuting whistleblowers. SHANGHAI – Outspoken director Oliver Stone brought thunderous applause to of … See all stories on this topic » |
AP PHOTOS: Chilean torture center becomes shelter NBC 29 News Manning’s WikiLeaks court-martial enters 3rd week · Manning’s WikiLeaks court-martial enters 3rd week. Prosecutors are moving quickly through the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning.Full Story. Prosecutors are moving quickly through the court-martial … See all stories on this topic » |
McCain presses Obama on secret emails WGCL Atlanta Prosecutors are moving quickly through the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning.More >. A huge database of troop names and email addresses an Army private allegedly downloaded to a personal computer could be used by foreign adversaries to launch … See all stories on this topic » |
Question motives of Snowden, writer Las Vegas Sun If public opinion is that Snowden’s actions deserve whistle-blower protection while Pfc. Bradley Manning is being tried for treason, then public opinion (as usual) is mistaken. It’s questionable that Manning and WikiLeaks jeopardized our national … See all stories on this topic » |
Experts doubt intel-leaker Snowden qualifies as whistleblower under federal law The Republic Pfc. Bradley Manning is being court-martialed for giving sensitive diplomatic cables, videos and reports to the website WikiLeaks. The soldier’s case is stirring interest anew in Daniel Ellsberg. A former RAND Corp. military analyst, Ellsberg stood … See all stories on this topic » |
Obama’s One-Way Mirror Truth-Out This problem of one-way transparency is exemplified by how the government is dealing with the most important criminal trial involving leaks of classified information since the Pentagon Papers: the court-martial of Bradley Manning. The government has … See all stories on this topic » |
Whistle Blowers, Deep States, and Sunlight Asbarez Armenian News Daniel Ellsberg (The Pentagon Papaers), Sibel Edmonds (Turkish money in U.S. politics), Julian Assange/Bradley Manning (Wikileaks), and now Ed Snowden (NSA-phone-gate [that’s my invented term]). These are among the best known of the leakers who … See all stories on this topic » |
On Second Thought Deseret News Ellsberg: We note the excused absence of Pfc. Bradley Manning. We’d also like to welcome our newest member, Edward Snowden! Snowden: Thank you. Julian Assange: Welcome, although I knew you’d be here. Snowden: How’s that? Assange: I took the … See all stories on this topic » |
Day one of Manning trial focuses on intent of WikiLeaks source
The military trial of admitted WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning began Monday morning in Fort Meade, Maryland, more than three years after he was arrested in Iraq.
Manning, a 25-year-old soldier who reached the rank of private first class in the United States Army, has been in pretrial custody since May 2010. He could spend the rest of his life in prison if a military judge convicts him at the end of the trial for providing support to al-Qaeda.
In a small courtroom outside of Baltimore early Monday, Army prosecutors painted a picture of Pfc. Manning that portrayed him as a traitor that released files to WikiLeaks with intent to cause harm to the US. Manning’s defense counsel David Coombs insisted otherwise, however, and rejected the government’s argument that the soldier made contact with the anti-secrecy website in order to bring harm to the country he had taken an oath to protect.
Manning previously pleaded guilty to a number of lesser charges lobbed by the US government, but his counsel’s biggest challenge will occur during the court-martial, when they are faced with defending the private against counts of aiding the enemy and espionage.
Day one of the court-martial got underway around 10am Monday with Army prosecutors presenting a slideshow that paved the way for how they intend to prove that Pfc. Manning went to WikiLeaks will ill intentions. By presenting an outline of the evidence they plan to present as the trial continues trough the summer, prosecutors said they will show that Manning knowingly aided the enemy.
“This is not a case about an accidental spill of classified information” or “a case about a few documents left in a barracks,” prosecutors said.
“This, your honor, this is a case about a soldier who systemically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases, and literally dumped that information onto the Internet in the hands of the enemy,” putting the lives of his fellow soldiers at risk.
“This is a case about what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information.”
Prosecutors also argued that Manning conspired with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, citing chat logs alleged to have occurred between the two in which Manning discussed classified intelligence that was publically requested and discussed by the WikiLeaks Twitter feed.
“We would like a list of as many .mil email addresses as possible. Please contact editor@wikileaks.org,” one tweet read in part. Manning is accused of supplying WikiLeaks with a list containing the personal information of 74,000 troops shortly thereafter, and the Army may be able to prove that the soldier took a cue from Assange, likely setting the stage for an eventual case against Assange that could finally pressure his extradition to the US.
But earlier this year, Manning testified during pretrial hearings that he was never sure who he communicated with during his few chats with a WikiLeaks staffer the government alleges to be Assange. Manning admitted to sending hundreds of thousands of files to WikiLeaks during a February 2013 statement, and on Monday his attorney said he had a very good reason for that.
Speaking of one file Manning admitted to leaking — a video of a US Apache chopper opening fire and killing civilians — Coombs said Manning sent it to WikiLeaks in hopes of bringing change to a war in Iraq being fought in a way very much unlike it was being reported.
“When he decided to release this information, he believed that this information showed how we value human life,” Coombs said. “He was troubled. And he believed that the American public saw it they too would be troubled. And maybe things would be changed,” he said.
Manning also has been attributed with leaking an entire trove of sensitive files to the website, including State Department diplomatic cables, Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment files and other materials. Before he concluded his brief opening statement, Coombs offered insight as to why his client did as charged.
“He released these documents because he was hoping to make the world a better place,” Coombs said. “He was 22 years old. He was young. He was a little naïve in thinking the information he selected could actually make a difference, but it was good intentions.”
“He had absolutely no actual knowledge that the enemy would get access to it,” Coombs said.
The prosecution called a handful of witnesses on Monday, including the Army officials who began the investigation into Pfc. Manning in May 2010 and his roommate in Iraq. The trial will enter day two on Tuesday and is expected to run through the summer.
via Day one of Manning trial focuses on intent of WikiLeaks source — RT USA.