Military judge won't dismiss charges in Bradley Manning leak case

Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted out of a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade, Md., April 25, 2012. / CBS News

(AP) FORT MEADE, Md. - A military judge refused on Wednesday to throw out the case against an Army private accused of providing reams of sensitive documents to Wikileaks in the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history.

Army Col. Denise Lind said she will rule Thursday on whether to dismiss any of the individual charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning, including the most serious count of aiding the enemy — which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Prosecutors argue that the leak helped al Qaeda and that Manning knew its members regularly viewed the anti-secrecy website.

Manning hasn't entered a plea to the charges. He also hasn't yet decided whether he will be tried by a judge or a jury. Lind scheduled Manning's trial for Sept. 21 through Oct. 12.

He is accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WilkiLeaks, a website founded by Julian Assange, in late 2009 and early 2010.

Manning's lawyers had sought dismissal of all 22 charges, contending prosecutors had failed their duty to share information that could be helpful to the defense, a legal process called discovery.

Complete Coverage: WikiLeaks

Lind agreed that prosecutors had wrongly assumed the discovery rules didn't pertain to classified information but she found no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, turning down the motion to throw out the case.

She heard arguments later on defense motions seeking dismissal of individual charges.

Defense attorney David Coombs said a conviction would require the government to show that Manning sent WikiLeaks the material with a "genuine evil intent" that it be seen by al Qaeda.

Manning's alleged motive, as he stated in his online chat logs with a confidant-turned-informant, was "I want people to see the truth."

Absent an evil intent, Coombs said sending intelligence information to WikiLeaks without authorization was no different than giving it to the The New York Times or The Washington Post — a punishable offense, perhaps, but not as serious a crime as the government alleges.

"What the government's really trying to say is, `He should have known better,"' Coombs said.

He said it wouldn't be surprising if al Qaeda saw the material.

"Anyone can find anything if it's posted on the Internet. Everyone knows that," he said.

But prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said the government needs only to show that Manning knew that the enemy would see the material and that he sent it without authorization.

"I could have the purest motives in the world. But if do something knowingly and without proper authority in terms of interacting with the enemy, that's a violation," he said.

Lind also ruled Wednesday that Army prosecutors don't have to provide the defense with transcripts of federal grand jury testimony about the WikiLeaks disclosures.

Manning's lawyers were seeking transcripts from a federal investigation into whether Assange can be prosecuted for the disclosure of information that authorities say was provided by Manning. Lind said that while the FBI and the Army have jointly pursued a WikiLeaks investigation, military prosecutors have no authority to release FBI documents.

The 24-year-old Oklahoma native was ordered court-martialed after he was accused of downloading the documents, diplomatic cables and video clips, then sending them to WikiLeaks. He was working as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad when authorities say he copied classified material from government computers in late 2009 and early 2010.

The material WikiLeaks published included cockpit video of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack that killed a number of civilians, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. The U.S. government says the civilian deaths were accidental.

Manning has been in pretrial confinement since he was charged in May 2010. His treatment at a Marine Corps base caused support for him to swell. The Quantico, Va., brig commander kept Manning confined 23 hours a day in a single-bed cell, citing safety and security concerns. For several days in March 2011, he was forced to sleep naked, purportedly for injury prevention, before he was issued a suicide-prevention smock.

Manning's supporters have raised funds to place posters in the Washington Metro subway system this week portraying him as a whistleblower, patriot and hero.

[krotec54]

I am glad that charges will not be dismissed. We have too many manning pansies in the military that think they are special and with their advance logical thinking that it would be a great ideal to release such information to unauthorized personnel about an unfortunate accident, again I wonder what kind of parent will take their kids to school in a war zone in an unmark van. Our military did not have the x-ray gun sights to prevent unnecessary deaths. And worst, to show everybody's dirty laundry is not the right way to bring the world together. If his mental state is being blamed for his poor judgment, then he should have not been allowed to enlist in the military in the first place.

[michaelz06]

Manning is a disgrace to the uniform he is pictured in. I would rather he be escorted to and from trial in whatever he wears in the stockade.

[jmwtex]

No they don't see it and I doubt they ever will. They beleive the stuff main stream media feeds them and they eat it up. Don't waste you time on them.

[Irby32]

Let him go.

[jmwtex]

Bradley took the same oath that I took when I joined the army. He failed. He didn't take one or two files to leak them for "good". he took thousands of them to do "damage". It does not matter what he thought he was doing - what does matter is what he did. And it was wrong. I have no pity for him. I don't want him to be mistreated but I do want him punished.
Here are my thoughts and I'll be brief;
#1 All politicians (both sides) can't be trusted. NEVER
#2 All news stories are slanted and facts are always left out
#3 Don't attack the military for Washington's mistakes
#4 Don't second guess the military when we're at war
#5 I don't care about a "declaration of war". That makes no differance to me. People want to cripple our country - we are at war.
#6 I love my country and we have been a force for good.We are not perfect. Name one other country in the history of the world that has done half of what we have for mankind
#7 Those of you that disagree with me - I don't care
Have a nice day.

[josephp5]

You're wrong---It does matter what files he leaked and why. If the military is lying to us about how the war in Iraq is going, then I as a citizen and taxpayer deserve to know about it. And if that is the motivation for Manning's leaks, then it should be considered during his trial and sentencing.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
Bradley Manning can't be the only to take responsibility in leak
of government secrets, il is unfair.
"au revoir"

[ace92040]

This worm is a traitor that will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison. Thats unfortunate. Executing him for transferring secrets and aiding the enemy would send a stronger message.

[rwsmith29456]

josephp5..... I think you are wrong. Also, there is not only the 'enemy' to worry about here but our own public opinions and moral at home.

[hornsnbr1]

I thought the penalty for treason during wartime is death.

[formerlyluvnut]

I think he should be executed on a 4th of July. Make it symbolic. This year would be good.