Conflating what Manning did

[deltex1]

With what journalists can do...how conveeeeeenient...

World news
Bradley Manning
Bradley Manning WikiLeaks trial 'dangerous' for civil liberties – experts
Soldier faces charge of 'aiding the enemy' by downloading and leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents

The Guardian, Sunday 2 June 2013


Of the 21 counts faced by the Army private on Monday, at his trial at Fort Meade in Maryland, by far the most serious is that he knowingly gave intelligence information to al-Qaida by transmitting hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the open information website WikiLeaks. The leaked disclosures were first published by the Guardian and allied international newspapers.

Manning is accused of "aiding the enemy", in violation of Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. By indirectly unleashing a torrent of secrets onto the internet, the prosecution alleges, he in effect made it available to Osama bin Laden and his cohorts, for them to inflict injury on the US.

Laurence Tribe, a Harvard professor who is considered to be the foremost liberal authority on constitutional law in the US and who taught the subject to President Barack Obama, told the Guardian that the charge could set a worrying precedent. He said: "Charging any individual with the extremely grave offense of 'aiding the enemy' on the basis of nothing beyond the fact that the individual posted leaked information on the web and thereby 'knowingly gave intelligence information' to whoever could gain access to it there, does indeed seem to break dangerous new ground."

Tribe, who advised the department of justice in Obama's first term, added that the trial could have "far-reaching consequences for chilling freedom of speech and rendering the internet a hazardous environment, well beyond any demonstrable national security interest."

"Aiding the enemy" carries the death penalty. Though the US government has indicated it will not seek that ultimate punishment, Manning still faces a maximum sentence of life in military custody with no chance of parole.

Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 was subjected to an aborted trial for leaking the Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War to the New York Times, said that the Manning prosecution was far tougher than anything that he had endured.

"This is part of Obama's overall policy of criminalising investigative reporting on national security," he said. "If the government has its way, it will become very hard in future to expose official corruption or disclose information in the public interest other than leaks made by the administration itself."

Manning's trial, which is slated to last three months, opens against a backdrop of mounting unease about the increasingly aggressive stance the US government is taking against official leakers. The Obama administration has launched six prosecutions under the Espionage Act, twice as many as all previous presidencies combined, of which only Manning's has gone to trial.

Entire article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/03/bradley-manning-wikileaks-trial-aiding-enemy

 

[NYcarbineer]

I take it you're implying that Bradley Manning is not the proper comparison,

but that James Rosen and Fox News are comparable to Julian Assange and wikileaks, aka,

in your opinion, the 'good guys'?

 

[deltex1]

I am saying that manning Is a soldier who made classified info available to the enemy. He is not a journalist. He did what he did all on his own...he was the discloser. He has nothing in common with Rosen.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I am saying that manning Is a soldier who made classified info available to the enemy. He is not a journalist. He did what he did all on his own...he was the discloser. He has nothing in common with Rosen.

But Julian Assange does. Julian Assange and wikileaks are the Rosen/Foxnews in this situation; Manning would be the Stephen Kim.

That makes sense because as I recall there was widespread support for and defense of Julian Assange and wikileaks around here as being innocent, heroic practitioners of the sacred right of freedom of the press.

LOLOL

 

[longknife]

And I am accused of spamming the board?

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - he was in cahoots with Osama bin-Laden...

Prosecutor: Manning dumped info into enemy hands
3 June`13 — Pfc. Bradley Manning went on trial Monday for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, including sensitive information prosecutors said fell into enemy hands.

Manning, a 25-year-old former intelligence analyst from Oklahoma, has admitted to giving troves of information to WikiLeaks in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, but military prosecutors want to prove Manning he also aided the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence. They said they will present evidence that former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden asked for and received information WikiLeaks published. "This is a case of about what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information," Capt. Joe Morrow said in his opening statement.

Manning's supporters hail him as a whistleblowing hero and political prisoner. Others say he is a traitor who endangered lives and national security. "This, your honor, this is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases and then dumped that information on to the Internet into the hands of the enemy," Morrow said.

Defense attorney David Coombs said Manning was "young, naive, but good-intentioned." Coombs said Manning selectively leaked material he believed could make the world a better place, mentioning an unclassified video of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians, including a Reuters photographer. "He believed this information showed how we value human life. He was troubled by that. He believed that if the American public saw it, they too would be troubled," Coombs said.

In his dress blue uniform and wire-rimmed eye glasses, the slightly built Manning followed a slide show of the prosecutor's hour-long opening statement, watching on a laptop computer at the defense table. The slide show also was projected on three larger screens in the small court room, which only had seating for about 50 people. Later, almost motionless, the soldier sat forward in his chair, looking toward Coombs throughout the defense attorney's 25-minute opening statement, which focused on what Coombs said was Manning's struggle to do the right thing as "a humanist" concerned about the war. Manning has said he did not believe the information would harm the U.S. Coombs did not address whether bin Laden ever saw any of the material Manning leaked.

Manning chose to have his court-martial heard by a judge instead of a jury. It is expected to run all summer. Manning was arrested in Iraq more than three years ago. Since then, he admitted to sending the material WikiLeaks and pleaded guilty to reduced charges on nine counts that alleged violations of federal espionage and computer fraud laws, and to one count alleging violation of a military regulation prohibiting wrongful storage of classified information. The maximum for those offenses is 20 years in prison. But Manning admitted guilt without a deal from the U.S. military who wanted to pursue more serious charges.

More Prosecutor: Manning dumped info into enemy hands

 

[aaronleland]

Granny says, "Dat's right - he was in cahoots with Osama bin-Laden...

Prosecutor: Manning dumped info into enemy hands
3 June`13 — Pfc. Bradley Manning went on trial Monday for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, including sensitive information prosecutors said fell into enemy hands.

Manning, a 25-year-old former intelligence analyst from Oklahoma, has admitted to giving troves of information to WikiLeaks in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, but military prosecutors want to prove Manning he also aided the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence. They said they will present evidence that former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden asked for and received information WikiLeaks published. "This is a case of about what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information," Capt. Joe Morrow said in his opening statement.

Manning's supporters hail him as a whistleblowing hero and political prisoner. Others say he is a traitor who endangered lives and national security. "This, your honor, this is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases and then dumped that information on to the Internet into the hands of the enemy," Morrow said.

Defense attorney David Coombs said Manning was "young, naive, but good-intentioned." Coombs said Manning selectively leaked material he believed could make the world a better place, mentioning an unclassified video of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians, including a Reuters photographer. "He believed this information showed how we value human life. He was troubled by that. He believed that if the American public saw it, they too would be troubled," Coombs said.

In his dress blue uniform and wire-rimmed eye glasses, the slightly built Manning followed a slide show of the prosecutor's hour-long opening statement, watching on a laptop computer at the defense table. The slide show also was projected on three larger screens in the small court room, which only had seating for about 50 people. Later, almost motionless, the soldier sat forward in his chair, looking toward Coombs throughout the defense attorney's 25-minute opening statement, which focused on what Coombs said was Manning's struggle to do the right thing as "a humanist" concerned about the war. Manning has said he did not believe the information would harm the U.S. Coombs did not address whether bin Laden ever saw any of the material Manning leaked.

Manning chose to have his court-martial heard by a judge instead of a jury. It is expected to run all summer. Manning was arrested in Iraq more than three years ago. Since then, he admitted to sending the material WikiLeaks and pleaded guilty to reduced charges on nine counts that alleged violations of federal espionage and computer fraud laws, and to one count alleging violation of a military regulation prohibiting wrongful storage of classified information. The maximum for those offenses is 20 years in prison. But Manning admitted guilt without a deal from the U.S. military who wanted to pursue more serious charges.

More Prosecutor: Manning dumped info into enemy hands

The military did a damage assessment report. So, why are the prosecutors fighting to keep the information out of the trial? Seems that if any damage was done by the leaks that report would be a slam dunk for the prosecution.