FORT MEADE, US, July 19: A US soldier accused of passing a trove of documents to WikiLeaks has asked a military judge to allow him to cite evidence showing his leak caused no damage to the United States.
A defense lawyer for US Army private Bradley Manning argued yesterday that his client took care to disclose files that would not harm US interests and subsequent government reports have shown no major “injury” was caused.
But prosecutors countered that the potential harm caused by the disclosures is irrelevant to the court-martial and that Manning committed a crime simply by leaking classified information without permission.
Manning’s lead attorney, David Coombs, faced tough questions at the pre-trial hearing from Judge Denise Lind, who said at one point the defense’s argument was “confusing.”
“How is something that happened after the fact (leak) relevant?” Lind asked.
The judge made no ruling on the issue yesterday but if she bars evidence related to the possible harm caused by the leaks, it would represent a major blow to Manning’s defense.
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