Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in the court-martial trial against Bradley Manning, the Army private who has admitted to leaking sensitive military information and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks in 2010.
Government attorneys have pursued an aiding the enemy charge
against the soldier. To prove that claim, they must substantiate
beyond the shadow of a doubt the idea that Manning provided
intelligence to WikiLeaks with the knowledge that it would be
seen online by an enemy of the United States, namely al-Qaeda.
The 25-year-old Oklahoma native has maintained that he only
sought to publicize perceived wrongdoing by the US Army and shady
diplomatic maneuvering.
He is charged with 21 total offenses, having already pleaded
guilty to reduced charges on seven of eight espionage counts and
two computer fraud counts. For those charges, along with a guilty
plea for violating a military rule against storing information,
Manning would spend no less than 20 years in prison.
Despite that admission, the government is seeking a life sentence
without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors presented evidence from 80 witnesses since the trial
began on June 3 at Fort Meade near Baltimore, Maryland.
One of the last pieces of evidence submitted by the prosecution
was WikiLeaks’ “Most Wanted Leaks of 2009” list, outlining the
anti-secrecy organization’s most-desired international documents.
Among the 2009 list was the comical “Editorial Guide to Fox
News,” to the serious — a plea for documents shedding light on
policies at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, which Manning
provided.
The government also presented, in agreement with the defense,
evidences that Osama bin Laden was in possession of Afghanistan
battlefield reports leaked by Manning at the time of his
death.
Manning acknowledged providing WikiLeaks with more than 700,000
Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and State Department memos, but
told a military judge in February he did so to document “the true
costs of the wars” in the Middle East.
The defense is expected to begin arguing its case when the trial
resumes, which could be as soon as Monday, July 8. They are
likely to request a dismissal of all the charges, a usual motion
after the prosecution rests. Manning’s fate will be decided by
the judge, who so far has strictly adhered to military procedure
in the court-martial.
Despite 14 days of testimony over five weeks, experts said the
prosecution struggled to prove Manning acted with malicious
intent to aid the enemy.
Republished with permission from: RT