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| Wikileaks accused Bradley Manning loses challenge to most serious charge |
| 2013-07-18 |
| A military judge has refused to dismiss the most serious charge facing Bradley Manning, the US soldier who allegedly leaked thousands of secret documents. Lawyers for the 25-year-old argued there is no proof he "aided the enemy", a charge carrying a life prison term. Prosecutors have argued he "systematically harvested" documents eventually seen by Osama Bin Laden. The case, allegedly involving 700,000 files, is considered the largest-ever leak of secret US government documents. "He [Pte Manning] was knowingly providing intelligence to the enemy," said Judge Colonel Denise Lind at Thursday's hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland. The decision does not exclude the possibility of Pte Manning being ultimately acquitted of the charge. The accused, who appeared to be following the proceedings closely, showed no reaction to the ruling. He has previously pleaded guilty to 10 of the more than 20 charges he faces. But on Thursday, Judge Lind also denied a defence request to drop a computer fraud charge. She is still considering a motion by Pte Manning's lawyers to dismiss five charges of theft. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #2 He needs to either stand and man up like he believes what he did was in the right, or else admit he is a fricken weasel. EIther way, he is going to Leavenworth for quite a while. Unlike Snowden, Manning was not making a moral statement, he was dumping reams of classified data, including names and places, and diplomatic stuff, that cost lives. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 22:26 |
| #1 Don't try to tell me he wasn't aiding the enemy. He claims he had never heard of Wikileaks. However, he knew that anything he posted on the internet would be seen by the other side. If all he wanted to do was to expose some things he disagreed with, he could have just posted those files. Instead, he posted everything he could get his grubby little paws on |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2013-07-18 18:32 |