Bradley Manning has been indicted by the United States government for exposing war crimes being committed in Iraq by the Pentagon. He is being used as a scapegoat for the failure of the U.S. in the war., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Manning defense gets report on WikiLeaks damage to US interests
Thu Jun 7, 2012 12:8AM GMT
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Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier accused of being the source of the biggest leak of state secrets in American history, has won a partial victory in his battle to force the government to disclose vital information that could help his defense.
The judge presiding over his trial at Fort Meade in Maryland has ordered the U.S. government to hand over several confidential documents relating to the massive leak to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
In particular, the Obama administration must now disclose to Manning's lawyers some of the damage assessments it carried out into the impact of the leak on U.S. interests around the world.
Should those assessments reveal that the U.S. government found that the fallout from WikiLeaks was limited, that could be used by Manning's defense to argue his innocence against some of the charges he faces, such as aiding the enemy. If the soldier is found guilty, the information might then prove invaluable in reducing any sentence.
As a result of the ruling, Manning's defense team was handed the main findings of a state department investigation into the impact of WikiLeaks on Tuesday evening. The Guardian
In addition, Manning's defense lawyers will now also be able to see a redacted report into WikiLeaks by the defense intelligence agency. It was also revealed that the FBI carried out its own inquiry into the leak of confidential material to WikiLeaks, which the Manning's defense lawyers will also now pursue. The Guardian
An exhaustive search for government records assessing the impact of the WikiLeaks disclosures could delay the court-martial of the Army private charged with causing the biggest intelligence leak in U.S. history, a military judge said Wednesday. abcnews.go.com
With the defense accusing prosecutors of sitting on evidence potentially favorable to Pfc. Bradley Manning, the judge indicated she would consider his lawyers' request for a stay of proceedings. The trial is set to begin Sept. 21. abcnews.go.com
"The court is certainly willing to entertain any good-cause motions for continuance," Col. Denise Lind said from the bench during a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade that is scheduled to continue through Friday. NPR
Lind didn't say when she would rule on the defense motion. NPR
Manning, a 24-year-old Crescent, Okla., native, is charged with aiding al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula by allegedly causing hundreds of thousands of classified war logs, video clips and diplomatic cables to be published on the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks. Authorities say he downloaded the files from a Defense Department network while working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010. NPR
Manning's lawyers are seeking dismissal of 10 of the 22 charges he faces. NPR
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