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.
The trial is due to begin in September for Manning, 24, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted of aiding the enemy by giving hundreds of thousands of secret documents to WikiLeaks, the secret-spilling website.
The baby-faced soldier, who attended the hearing clad in a dress uniform, was a low-ranking intelligence analyst deployed in Iraq when he was arrested in May 2010 and accused of releasing thousands of classified military logs from Iraq and Afghanistan and State Department diplomatic cables. (Agencies)
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