US set to close case against Manning
Source: Agencies |
December 21, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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THE United States government neared the end of its case yesterday against the Army intelligence analyst blamed for the biggest leak of national secrets in American history.
The prosecution was to call its final six witnesses in the case against alleged WikiLeaks source Pfc Bradley Manning in Fort Meade, Maryland, followed by defense calling witnesses and closing arguments. Then a military officer will decide whether to recommend that the 24-year-old be court-martialed on 22 charges, including aiding the enemy. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Manning is accused of illegally leaking a trove of secret information to WikiLeaks, a breach that rattled US foreign relations and "imperiled valuable military and diplomatic sources."
The military has released a text file, purportedly discovered on a data card owned by Manning, boldly stating the importance of data that would make its way to the secrets-spilling website WikiLeaks.
"This is possibly one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and revealing the true nature of 21st century asymmetric warfare. Have a good day," Manning wrote, according to digital-crimes investigator David Shaver.
Almost 500,000 classified battlefield reports were also on the card, Shaver said.
Until Monday, the defense largely focused on painting Manning as an emotionally troubled gay man serving during the Army's "don't ask, don't tell" era, and arguing that the classified material proved harmless in the open.
Manning's lawyers have yet to acknowledge or deny his responsibility for leaking of hundreds of thousands of US war and diplomatic cables.
The prosecution was to call its final six witnesses in the case against alleged WikiLeaks source Pfc Bradley Manning in Fort Meade, Maryland, followed by defense calling witnesses and closing arguments. Then a military officer will decide whether to recommend that the 24-year-old be court-martialed on 22 charges, including aiding the enemy. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Manning is accused of illegally leaking a trove of secret information to WikiLeaks, a breach that rattled US foreign relations and "imperiled valuable military and diplomatic sources."
The military has released a text file, purportedly discovered on a data card owned by Manning, boldly stating the importance of data that would make its way to the secrets-spilling website WikiLeaks.
"This is possibly one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and revealing the true nature of 21st century asymmetric warfare. Have a good day," Manning wrote, according to digital-crimes investigator David Shaver.
Almost 500,000 classified battlefield reports were also on the card, Shaver said.
Until Monday, the defense largely focused on painting Manning as an emotionally troubled gay man serving during the Army's "don't ask, don't tell" era, and arguing that the classified material proved harmless in the open.
Manning's lawyers have yet to acknowledge or deny his responsibility for leaking of hundreds of thousands of US war and diplomatic cables.
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