Is WikiLeaks Reneging on its Financial Promise to Bradley Manning?

A spokesman for the group organizing the defense of alleged diplomatic cable leaker, Army Spc. Bradley Manning, says that WikiLeaks has been surprisingly slow in providing promised financial support for Manning.

/ AP

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has a team of lawyers for his defense against sexual assault charges in Sweden. Since he sits in jail in England awaiting further hearings relating to his possible extradition, his international legal defense will surely prove to be rather expensive.

Assange is not alone in his need for large sums of money to provide a legal defense related to the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.

The man who allegedly stole the diplomatic cables and war documents that made WikiLeaks and Julian Assange household names, former Army Private Bradley Manning, is sitting in a military jail in Quantico, Va., and has not even had his first pre-trial hearing, according to Jeff Paterson, spokesman for the Bradley Manning Support Network.

To make matters worse, WikiLeaks has been surprisingly slow in providing promised financial support, and is delivering less financial support that originally promised, Paterson said. WikiLeaks did not respond to requests via Twitter for comment in time for this report.

Paterson said in an interview with CBS News that Manning's lawyer, David E. Coombs, has agreed to a flat fee of $100,000 for what will almost surely be a lengthy and complicated defense in military court.

So far, Paterson said Manning's American supporters have raised about $50,000, and they had reached an earlier verbal agreement with WikiLeaks to cover the rest after WikiLeaks began publicly soliciting funds on Manning's behalf in July.

However, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said last week they would be donating only $20,000 to the funds. Late Tuesday, Hrafnsson said in an e-mail to The Washington Post that there had been a misunderstanding about the status of the payment had been "rectified" and the "payment is being processed now."

Paterson said he had an email exchange later in the week with someone in Germany who can reportedly release the funds, but, as of late Friday afternoon, the money had still not arrived.

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All of this has proved to be a surprisingly frustrating experience for Manning's supporters.

"We've been trying to work with WikiLeaks for months," said Paterson, adding he wished he did not have to go public with this back and forth. "We've been persistent. We had no desire to make a press statement. We felt we had to for a number of reasons. We could use the contribution."

Paterson is the project director for Courage to Resist, a non-profit that helps military conscientious objectors and defectors. Paterson said he believes Manning had a crisis of conscience regarding the military that led to the former private's alleged actions, which is why Courage to Resist is lending its help.

[YrWrongAgain]

Payment will come when they give him his weight in lube.

[voxpopulus]

A while ago, Google was blocked by the Chinese government. The US government condemned it. Today, Wikileaks is harassed by the US government and then some in the media.

What's the difference?

Google provided information in China that the Chinese government did not want the public to know. Wikileaks provided information to the world that the American government does not want to be disclosed, and the other governments around the world are also not willing to see the information disclosed.

Irrespective of the political system, as soon as the government's interests are involved, 'freedom of speech' will be labeled 'reactionary,' 'treason,' 'leaking state secrets' and other crimes and then be destroyed by the state government (or even international coalitions).

[dontforget911]

There is a big difference. Google provides search results, it is not the owner of the web content. If this punk is Chinese and committed this crime against the Chinese government he will most likely be beaten to a pulp then beheaded already, no trial needed. The crime his punk committed put national security and our troops at risk. There are a lot that go behind the scene for the public to react and make judgment to a few leaked memos.

[eljefe067]

Every day our soldiers are making quick decisions in response to fluid situations out on a battle field. And while the rules of engagement are black and white--the situation on the ground is not. It's 10 shades of gray and there will be casualties. That's an unfortunate fact but the United States is not engaged in Afghanistan to lose a war. We are there to rebuild and prevent a hostile regime (complicit to the 9/11 attacks) from coming back in and taking power.

Likewise, it is time to hang this P.O.S. Manning by the neck until dead. If the government can't SWING that one, then send his sorry ass to Helmand Province for a tour of duty and see if that doesn't bring him around...

[voxpopulus]

The fact is you then admit your mistakes and not give people the continued power to treat the lives of others as a high tech videogame.

It's a skewed perspective to say killing the wrong people is acceptable, and telling others that someone has done so is not.

[AmazingGrce]

Let me see, mmmm, Nope not a drop of sympathy for Manning, his action rise to the level of treason in that his actions gave aid to our enemny in time of war. That merits a firing squad.

As to Wikileaks - What did the idiot manning expect? They got their documents what do they need with him now? Great example of what Wikileaks is all about.

[KeithDrippingSprings]

Amazing you're not, you never served or you would know what constitutes treason.

[dontforget911]

Please enlighten us with your definition of treason? If you served then we don't need traitors like you an Manning in the military.

[themooniac]

Boo f*uking hoo. I guess he did'nt learn anything in Basic. Manning must have been really dumb, or really full of himself, to think Wkileaks would help him out. He has a military lawyer from the JAG/Army anyway. Best of luck to ya kid! (I wonder what will happen to his recruiters' military career.)

[KeithDrippingSprings]

Seems to me he learned a lot in basic and remembered what he learned.

[voxpopulus]

The world does not distrust us because of what Wikleaks SAID we did.

It distrusts us because of what we did.

[incog-nito]

First you freeze their bank accounts and block their their funding, then you blame them for not coming up with the money. Right.

[willyd357]

I second that. *** CBS?

[dontforget911]

Manning needs to be put under a firing squad for treason. This little punk has no idea what he got himself into.

[KeithDrippingSprings]

Spc Pvt Manning is a patriot. He revealed war crimes committed by the United States. He may spend the rest of his life in Leavenworth but that doesn't mean he was wrong.

I don't know about the Army but I do know if you are a Marine you take an oath to do the right thing no matter what the consequences are and no matter what your orders are. Pvt Manning did the right thing because his commanders were ignoring a wrong and that made them wrong.

SSgt,1st Div, 3rd Brigade USMC

[slowwhitekid]

KeithDrippingSprings,
"He may spend the rest of his life in Leavenworth but that doesn't mean he was wrong."

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it means. We have laws for a reason. If you choose to break them you become a criminal and you will be treated/prosecuted as such.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
il est impossible que "Bradley Manning" ait agi seul.

***************************************************
it is impossible that "Bradley Manning" acted alone.au revoir.

[PVperson2]

OK, let see here, Manning is guilty of stealing the files, WikiLeaks paid him for the files, why doesn't that make WikiLeaks no longer covered by any journalism protection and instead complicit in the theft?

[imthaid]

ALL news agencies pay for top stories and supporting evidence. Are you really this naive?