AP reports: “An Army officer recommended a general court-martial Thursday for a low-ranking intelligence analyst charged with causing the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history. Lt. Col. Paul Almanza’s recommendation to try Pfc. Bradley Manning on all 22 counts, including aiding the enemy, now goes up the chain of command for a final determination.”
JEFF PATERSON, via Zack Pesavento, press at bradleymanning.org
Paterson is a veteran and co-founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network. He said today: “We’re disappointed but by no means surprised. The investigating officer showed no concern for the conflict of interest caused by his dual employment with the Justice Department, or the taint of bias arising from his commander-in-chief, President Obama, who publicly declared Manning to be guilty long before he ever had his day in court.” See updates about the court proceeding at: http://www.bradleymanning.org
KEVIN ZEESE, kbzeese at gmail.com
Zeese is a lawyer on the steering committee for the Bradley Manning Support Network. He said today: “These charges contradict the administration’s own impact assessments which showed that these WikiLeaks revelations posed no threat to our national security. But since the Obama administration appears dead set on railroading Bradley Manning through their show trial, we can’t expect them to allow such critical evidence or testimony to be considered. This evidence could have shown that these materials were improperly classified.”
The group also notes: “Lt. Col. Paul Alamanza, the investigating officer who referred the charges to court martial, refused to recuse himself on the grounds that his employer — the Justice Department — is pursuing a separate investigation into WikiLeaks. He was also criticized for allowing all of the military’s witnesses and evidence to be presented, while prohibiting all but two of the defense’s witnesses from testifying, as well as evidence that could exonerate the accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower.
“The recommendations, which now go before the Special Court Martial Convening Authority, include the most serious charge of ‘aiding the enemy.’ Legal observers who followed the Article 32 proceedings noted that military prosecutors never provided evidence of how these materials supposedly harmed national security.”
For critical background, see:
Daniel Ellsberg, source for the Pentagon Papers, recently defended Manning in an interview: “My trial was ended because of gross governmental misconduct against me under President Nixon. This court-martial should be ended now for exactly the same reason. There has been gross, illegal conduct against Bradley Manning in the form of his incarceration for these many months without trial. And that’s one of several reasons why this trial is a travesty.”
“Bradley Manning Heads For Trial; No One Charged For Murdered Civilians,” which focuses on the “Collateral Murder” video, which Manning is accused of making public:
“Iraq refuses to extend U.S. military diplomatic immunity after WikiLeaks exposed crimes”
“The First WikiLeaks Revolution?” about how Manning’s leak to WikiLeaks helped spark the Tunisian uprising, leading to uprisings in other countries:
Note to producers: possible musical intro is David Rovics’ “Song for Bradley Manning”
