Judge seeks WikiLeaks damage assessments

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, center, is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Dec. 21, 2011, after a military hearing that will determine if he should face court-martial for his alleged role in the WikiLeaks classified leaks case went on recess for the day. / AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Updated 5:10 PM ET

(CBS/AP) FORT MEADE, Md. - A military judge said Tuesday that she wants to see several federal agencies' assessments of the damage caused by WikiLeaks' publication of government secrets.

Army Col. Denise Lind ordered prosecutors during a pretrial hearing to provide the documents so she can decide whether they should be turned over to Pfc. Bradley Manning's defense lawyers.

Manning is being court-martialed for allegedly giving the anti-secrecy website a trove of classified documents and video clips.

His attorneys are seeking damage assessments done by the CIA and the Departments of Justice, State and Defense to back up its claim that the leaked documents did no harm to U.S. interests.

Lind says she will rule Wednesday on another defense motion to dismiss all charges against the 24-year-old intelligence analyst.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a briefing Tuesday that release of the information caused damage and "enormous turbulence" in relations with some countries.

"Our view of the entire WikiLeaks incident has not changed at all in terms of the negative effects," she said.

Nuland said there hasn't been much impact on actual reporting from embassies back to Washington.

"Our embassies abroad continue to do a superb job of working with governments and societies where they are accredited and giving us a good strong picture of what's going on," Nuland said. "That doesn't change the fact that there was enormous turbulence in many of our bilateral relationships when this happened and that there have been impacts on individuals, as you know."

Asked for examples of how WikiLeaks might have compromised or damaged U.S. foreign relations, Nuland declined to comment further, citing the pending legal case.

Earlier, it was reported that Manning is asking a military judge to dismiss the charges.

The defense claims military prosecutors have failed to hand over a broad range of documents potentially helpful to the defense.

Rather than restart the discovery process that began two years ago, the defense is asking the judge to dismiss the case.

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[KansasCity-2012]

I have said all along, that the contents disclosed was nothing new for any parties of interest.

The reality that all parties of interest kick around different ideas and gossip among themselves is common and traditional.

It may alarm the public to learn that our friends and enemies know more about us than we believe, but that only proves how naive the public really is. There is an information vacuum about international affairs in most public forums.

[AOCGUY]

The fact that what inpart was realeased may have been common knowledge is not relevant to this case. When I was a 2Lt I attended technical training as a commnications officer. At one point in that training we attended class in a secure vault where all traing material was clearly marked SECRET. The material were articles taken out of Aviation and Technology, magazine that I coould have gone oout and boought on any newsstand in the world. When I asked about this contradiction I was informed that the USG did not acknowledge or deny the validity of what was in the article.

The real bottom line is that Manning violated a trust that he agreed to, not only when he joined the Army but again when he received his security clearance. PFCs don't get the latitude to decide wht is releaseable to the public.

[Rejco100]

Those released computer files were not National Security Information....THEY WERE CRIMES!

[Rejco100]

Pvt. Manning is a NATIONAL HERO; he took an oath to protect the USA from all enemies, foreign & domestic. He revealed that domestic enemy...THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!

[knucklecheese]

Revealed what exactly? Do you even know? Does your mommy know you're on the internet? Shouldn't you be in school right now?

[thadius5]

Somebody shoot this traitor....and soon!! What a poor excuse for a human.

[RichZubaty]

Manning is a hero and should be released. He took an oath to protect the Constitution and he was just doing his job as a soldier by revealing the truth about the illegal murder and torture of noncombatants.

[retm-w]

A hero, if that's what you call a hero you need to be put in a cell with him.

[venusvegasvada]

That's creative. Delusional, but creative.

Maybe he should ask for full retirement and college benefits too? Why not throw in a free new car and house just to make sure he's set up just right.

[AOCGUY]

If Maning is still A PFC then why now rank insignia on his cover? Has the Army removed rank insignia from the BDU cap or is he really just an E-1 Private?

[AOCGUY]

Manning voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army, he then received trainig as an intelligence specialist and voluntarily applied for and received a Top Secret clearance. When he did so he voluntarily swore to protect that information with full knowledge of the consequences both to national security and to himself if he failed in his duties. He then, as accused, intentionally stole national security information and provided that information to uncleared personnel (WikiLeaks). Regardless of his motivation he violated U.S. law and derves what he gets.

[Bouillabaisse]

@ AOCGUY, "The law is an ass." -Charles Dickens.

[AnnieDanny]

The problem is: they can't find the paper that he supposedly signed. I read that in an article a few months back, if I recall correctly.