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Wikileaks: Bradley Manning Faces 22 New Charges, Possible Death Penalty
'Aiding the enemy' is most serious of new counts filed against private in WikiLeaks case
WASHINGTON — Following an intensive seven-month investigation, the Army on Wednesday filed 22 additional charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of illegally downloading tens of thousands of classified U.S. military and State Department documents that were then publicly released by WikiLeaks, military officials tell NBC News.
The most serious of the new charges is "aiding the enemy," a capital offense which carries a potential death sentence.
Pentagon and military officials say some of the classified information released by WikiLeaks contained the names of informants and others who had cooperated with U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, endangering their lives.
According to the officials, the U.S. military rounded up many of those named and brought them into their bases for protection. But, according to one military official, "We didn't get them all." Military officials tell NBC News a small number of them still have not been found.
Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, did not immediately return a call from msnbc.com for comment.
But Coombs wrote on his blog Wednesday that it was uncertain whether any additional charges filed against his client would stick.
"The decision to prefer charges is an individual one by PFC Manning's commander," he wrote. "The nature of the charges and the number of specifications under each reflects his determination, in consultation with his Staff Judge Advocate's office, of the possible offenses in this case. Ultimately, the Article 32 Investigating Officer will determine which, if any, of these additional charges and specifications should be referred to a court-martial.”
Manning, 23, was first charged on July 6, 2010, with illegally downloading and transferring defense information to an "unauthorized source," when he worked as a military intelligence analyst in Baghdad. He was also charged on accusations that he obtained 150,000 classified State Department cables, many of which were also eventually released by WikiLeaks.
The charges filed Wednesday include 16 specifications of wrongfully obtaining classified material for the purpose of posting it on the Internet, knowing that the information would be accessed by the enemy. Other charges include the illegal transmission of defense information and fraud.
While conviction on the charge of "aiding the enemy" could result in the death penalty, military prosecutors recommended that he be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on that charge alone. But the presiding military judge would have the authority to dismiss the prosecution's recommendation and impose the death penalty.
Like the earlier charges, the charges made no specific mention of WikiLeaks.
Pentagon and military officials also report that investigators have made no direct link between Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Manning remains in custody at the U.S. Marine Brig at Quantico south of Washington, D.C., awaiting court martial proceedings.
Coombs, Manning's lawyer, has complained that his confinement conditions — in maximum custody under a “prevention of injury” watch — are unduly harsh and undermine his right to a fair trial. Manning has been confined in a 6-by-12-foot cell with a bed, a drinking fountain and a toilet for about 23 hours a day, Coombs has said.
Anti-war groups, a psychologist group as well as filmmaker Michael Moore and Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg have called for Bradley to be released from detention. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have condemned the Obama administration's imprisonment conditions.
James Eng of msnbc.com contributed to this report.
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92 Comments so far
Show AllWhen this is all over I hope Mr Manning suits the US and wins millions of dollars for harassment, false imprisonment, torture and depravation of rights.
He should get a flippin medal.
When this is all over, Manning will be a gibbering vegetable. Maybe he'll even apologize before being sent to Bagram or Gitmo, if not execution outright.
Joe Stalin ain't got nothin' on us.
Yup.
Torture-R-US
Remember the last line in "1984"? Winston had been tortured until his own identity was betrayed, and a thing for him to be ashamed of. As the bullet entered his brain his last thought was " I love Big Brother"
this ia a warning to all potential truth-tellers. The U.S. govt will come after you to keep secret their crimes. BEWARE, Imperial Amerikka is on the march.
and Bush and company are out on the golf course.. no prosecutions in the financial
crimes over of the last decade..
Now I read that the obomber and crew are selling record amounts of arms to the middle
east and the rest of the usa's dictator partners...
Mr. Manning should be give the highest awards that any country can give but of
course the American people do not even care..
However the crows are coming home..
support the empire send your neighbors kids
Wars good business
So give your son
But I'd rather have
My country die for me.
There are so many of you
White shirt & tie
White shirt & tie
Wedding ring
Wedding ring
-Jefferson Airplane, on After Bathing at Baxter's, which is still a radical collection of music.
BOYCOTT all goverment jobs, and military positions. (period!!!)
Tell everyone you know to JUST QUIT.
We need to all be independant AND NOT WORK FOR THE GOVERMENT.
It will take time & be bumpy but THEN WE WILL ALL CREATE REAL CHANGE but we have to all stick together, and keep the peace.
NOW SPREAD THE MESSAGE!!!!
By the time our government is though with him, he will face added charges of
not wearing a seatbelt, littering and improper flossing.
America will so "make an example" of him. And Obama will help.
The compromise will probably be life and not the death penalty.
I do not see this ending well for any of us.
For those who don't believe the US is now a kleptocratic, neo-fascist Oligarchy need look no further than the treatment of Bradley Manning. He is enduring torture and now facing dealth penalty. This man is a hero for enduring this treatment. Greg Palast calls Assange a "creep" and that Manning is the real hero, I agree.
When they beat up Ray McGovern right in front of the Wicked Bitch of the West and dragged him off, was another graphic display.
Oh yeah, he "endangered lives." That reminds me of the dumbest Time Magazine cover of all Time, the one of the girl with the gouged out nose, and text that warned that this is what will happen if we leave Afghanistan.
The dumb Time Magazine editors and the U.S. Government and too many disgusting Americans just couldn't get their mind around the fact that the gouging occurred WHILE WE WERE THERE.
Manning's motivation clearly was to save lives, not to endanger them. And the claim of endangerment has already been shown to be exaggerated, is propaganda in other words.
A pox on anyone who wants to kill or imprison this kid.
The citizens of the US, including myself, need to be vocal and active on his behalf. That alone will save him, I think, or rather what is left of him.
I am praying for his health and welfare, and I am not a religious person in the slightest.
But more effectively, I will also call my elected officials, and encourage my friends to do so as well. This includes you.
I would trade one Bradley Manning for two US presidents in a heart beat!
You'd be getting the short end of that deal.
Presidents can be bought.
Cmon, President Blackbush, Free Bradley Manning!
Odd...Scooter Libby got a slap on the wrist
Do it, fools...lay one hand on this man and you'll find out just how tired we are out here of your shit. Go ahead. Fry him. Juice him. Gas him. See what happens.
My sentiments as well. If this brave young man is given the death penalty, there will be many death penalties dealt by the people.
However, I believe this news is BS. It's cheap posturing for a plea bargain of some sort. They could get away with screwing an American citizen like Padilla because he is a hispanic. Manning is a hero and they do not want him to be a martyr. The MIC wants everyone to forget about Manning so they have to release him soon.
Maybe they''re just trying to pressure Manning into somehow fingering Assange.
Maybe they will relaese him, but Manning is definitely among the devils in hell at the moment.
No, they'll pressure him into a false confession for use against Assange, and then they'll dispose of him. Why worry about future problems.
Last Tuesday, Barack Obama was responsible for the killing of nine little boys by maching gun and rocket fire. Will he face the death penalty for that mass murder?
'Pentagon and military officials say some of the classified information released by WikiLeaks contained the names of informants and others who had cooperated with U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, endangering their lives.'
I see. Just like the victims of Kkkkkarl and Scooter and Darth's outing of Valerie Plame's firm Brewster Jennings were protected and the perps put into solitary.
And that lying b_____d that claimed he worked on Sadamn's secret weapons programs gets cash, cars, and network interviews. What's next for him a book and film deal?
Given what the United States has become -- the de facto Fourth Reich -- I have no doubt the government will seek the death penalty against Bradley Manning.
Knowing the kangaroo reality of the military judicial system (I am a veteran), I have no doubt the government will get everything it wants.
The obvious Ruling Class purpose here -- already evident in the savage conditions of PFC. Manning's confinement -- is to make such a terrifying example of him, no one else will ever again dare do as he did.
The relevant precedent is the Rosenberg case; to imagine otherwise is to be self-delusional.
Well, let's see the government is saying that Manning deserves the death penalty for releasing the names of informants and others ...endangering their lives. Does that mean we'll see the government prosecuting Rumsfeld and Cheney for the outing of Valeri Plame and her contacts?
Grow up guys. This is just an attempt to soften him up so he will blow the whistle on Julian Assange and Wikileaks. That is who they want, not Manning.
Sheepherder:
True, they want Assange, but punishing Manning also serves to send a very loud, clear message to other potential whistleblowers of the fate that awaits them if they attempt to expose the crimes of the imperial mafia.
Did anyone see the movie about Valerie Plame? It was never shown in a theater close enough for me to get to it. Don't tell me that the people of America know the truth about Valerie Plame or about Bradley Manning or what is in the Wikileaks documents.But then would they care? I am so sick of hearing about Charlie Sheen.
I thought Obama was an intelligent reasonable decent man when I voted for him but if he does not stop the atrocities against Bradley Manning the world will know his true colors. He has no excuse for letting Bradley Manning suffer for the sins of the U.S. government.
"Did anyone see the movie about Valerie Plame?"
Yes, I did see "Fair Game". It was worth seeing, but not for a realistic portrayal of the world that Plame and Joe Wilson inhabit. You will not get the truth about Plame, Wilson or Scooter Libby and Judith Miller from the movie. You will get a Hollywood bowdlerization which sanitizes the story to the point of innocuousness.
But Naomi Watts looks good, and that's what matters.
Um, excuse me, but Charlie Sheen and his porn star hookers are WAY more important than anything that actually matters.
Focus the Rage.
"The most serious of the new charges is "aiding the enemy," a capital offense which carries a potential death sentence."
The enemy? Truth and justice or just the living?.
What, is the USA now running Gulags? How can Bradley Manning be treaed like this? He didn't aid the enemy. Those bastards Dick Cheney and Karl Rove did when they outed Valerie Plame-Wilson out of revenge against her husband.
If they didn't have to face solitary and abusive treatment, neither does Bradley. He SHOULD get a medal, like another poster said. And yes if Obama ignores this he is showing he's just another oligarchic puppet of the MIC. This is an outrage! Release this man now!
It is obvious that the charges are politically inspired in an apparent attempt to protect the decision makers in the Pentagon, CIA, and any number of other subgroups of the Executive Branch of the US government; it's a bit late to face up to that formidable group (of ????). The speculations regarding possible entrapment of B Manning as a strategy to entrap J Assange (the Wikileaks organization) in order to prevent enlightenment of the American general public may be true. I would encourage commentators and readers to support the legal defense fund for Bradley Manning.
I wish Bradley well, but I fear he will be another martyr to fascism.
Perhaps we should draft Bradley Manning as our next presidental candidate.
Manning is 22 years old as I recall. Constitutionally he'll be eligible to run for President at the age of 35, or in other words, in the year 2024.
Manning For President '24!
**You betchersweetarse!**
Meanwhile, what about Jeff Skiles, the co-pilot of "Miracle on the Hudson" who spoke so forthrightly at the Wisconsin rally?
He's over 35.
Manning would have my vote vs Obama --
It's fine to out a living, working CIA agent but not an Afghan informant? Especially since the U.S. government had the opportunity to redact those same names in the Wikileak documents? The "person" who put these people in danger is the U.S. official who chose not to redact the name, not Manning or Wikileaks. Manning and Assange deserve to share a Nobel Peace Prize for this, not prison! And the Nobel committee should show some courage and withdraw the award from Obama.
"Manning and Assange deserve to share a Nobel Peace Prize for this, not prison! And the Nobel committee should show some courage and withdraw the award from Obama."
that's the truth brother.
...peace...
Iowablackbird,
I agree with you.
Well stated.
quote; "the U.S. government had the opportunity to redact those ... names in the Wikileak documents..." before they were released to the public. Unfortunately that is part of the story that is usually swept under the rug just like the crimes that Bradley Manning is accused* of trying to expose. Bradley Manning is a political prisoner of a kind of totalitarian state that is still not recognized as such by a majority of Americans who still would rather believe the Superman version of "truth, justice and the American way".
Just who is the enemy that Manning was aiding?
The enemy is truth, whose star has been fading.
It is lies and suppression that keep us bound.
Overthrow them so freedom can be found.
This brutal empire costs up trillions a year,
whoever opposes it, their life must fear.
This military junta calls all the death squad shots.
Congress and President are small side show plots.
Its your military that needs to be overthrown.
And in that large battle, you are on your own,
when your cities are military recruitment pools,
and your news media are run by puppets and fools.
The enemy is the global ridicule,
that greets each diplomatic cable.
In this age of civilized blood bath,
some of us still appreciate a good laugh.
The enemy is us the people,
on whose behalf war crimes are responsible.
We then have become our own victims fate,
after raising our executioner its nearly too late.
The enemy is evolution,
which offers hope we can be changed.
But only if we see our situation
can the present regime be Assanged.
What definition of 'enemy' are they using?
Oh. yeah....someone opposed to U.S. Government policy....even if that objection is ipso facto protected by the Constitution.
But I guess better documents than that have been used for toilet paper over time.
It looks like things are getting serious. It is time to bring formal charges against our government, including the Pentagon. Starting with 9/11 and the Pentagon strike. It is provable that the whole thing was a fraud. So charge the Pentagon with lying to the public, destroying public military property, aiding and abetting the enemy in an attack against the USA.
Then the charges go to the Wallstreet thieves and the government regulators who control the ponzi schemes, and the Federal Reserve members for steeling billions and billions. If these are formal charges made by any organization in the name of the people, then Bradley and Julian will have a decent defense. The world can judge them, and the Jasmine Revolution (also thanks to Wikileaks) is revealing the US support of monstrous despots, . How rotting does it have to get? I am worried about Manning and Assange cause the people do not seem able to do anything for themselves or them. We need to formally charrge the US government for its corruption and do it now.
Bradley manning and Wikileaks are necessary today because of the lack of any real independent mainstream press...all major networks and newspapers should be ashamed of themselves.I saw Brian Williams tell John Stewert that he (Brian Williams) was the real news...I'm sorry but you can just say you are the real news
But we as Americans who do not raise our voice are the ones who should truly be ashamed