Bradley Manning offers lesser guilty pleas

Bradley Manning arrives for a hearing on June 6, 2012. / CBS News

FORT MEADE, Md. The U.S. Army private charged with sending reams of government secrets to WikiLeaks is offering to plead guilty to some lesser offenses.

Pfc. Bradley Manning's civilian defense attorney, David Coombs, revealed the offer Wednesday during a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade. The hearing continues Thursday.

Coombs says Manning isn't pleading guilty to the offenses charged by the government. Rather, he's offering to plead to less serious offenses that make up part of some of the more serious charges against him.

Even if the court accepts the offer, military prosecutors could still try to prove Manning guilty of the more serious charges. They include aiding the enemy, punishable by life imprisonment.

Coombs also says Manning has elected to be tried by a military judge, not a jury, in February.

[audemus]

All you Rambo-types and USO coffee-pourers wouldn't know a real traitor if he or she came up and introduced themselves to you. You all seem to have a really strange understanding of what this young man actually did. Kill him ? Lock him up for Life ? Are you kidding me ?

[a47percenter]

WHAT a little worm! Execution for treason is the only acceptable solution.

[gracescalia]

If the Universal Code of Military Justice calls this TREASON, then HANG HIM.

The Court Martial shall determine the consequences.

[eroteme2]

'Bradley Manning offers lesser guilty pleas' should read Bradley Manning's attorney offers lesser guilty pleas.

[Henri_Rochard]

"...aiding the enemy..."

And who is the enemy ??? The American Public ?? Are we now 'the enemy' ??

[aubfmet]

This is the day for the UCMJ.

[stopkillingourwilderness]

hang in there, bradley. the koch brothers do more harm to this country every day than you could ever do by simply telling the TRUTH in a DEMOCRACY. the same hoo-ha's braying their "truth seeking" conspiracy theories about benghazi will be the first to scream at someone like you because they can't actually handle the truth.

[lifeduringwartime]

Is the young man a hero trying to stop a war or a vile traitor? Only the shadow knows.

[Bleddyn71]

No sympathy for him/her ( what ever he/she is gender identifying with these days)....take his plea lock him up and then deport his a$$ back to Wales (since he tired to get Her Majesty's Government involved). He knew exactly what he was doing and broke faith his oath, those of us out in 'indian country' and both countries he shares citizenship with.

And shame on the DSS agent who did the background check on that waste of tax payers money.