UPDATE: Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years for Revealing Secrets

[Samstwitch]

Bradley Manning Will Face a Court Martial

February 3, 2012: The Army has approved a court martial for PFC Bradley Manning the soldier accused of having leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks.

A statement from the Military District of Washington said that Maj. Gen. Michael Linnington has referred all the charges against Manning to a court martial.

Linnington approved the recommendation for a court martial that had been made by the investigating officer who presided over a week-long pre-trial hearing in December.

The recommendation had to be approved by the two superior officers with convening authority for the case. With the other officer having approved the recommendation in mid-January, Linnington’s approval was the last obstacle for Manning to face a general court martial.

A trial date will be determined after a military judge is detailed to the case. According to the statement, “that military judge will set the date for Manning’s arraignment, motion hearings and trial.”

Serving as an Army intelligence analyst serving in Baghdad in late 2009 to early 2010, Manning had access to classified military and State Department files.

He is accused of having provided Wikileaks with hundreds of thousands of classified military action reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as 260,000 classified State Department cables.

Manning faces 22 charges, including aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy, theft of public property or records, and transmitting defense information.

Aiding the enemy is a capital offense that could bring the death penalty, but Army prosecutors have said they will instead pursue life in prison if the 24-year old Manning is convicted. Manning could also face a reduction in rank to the lowest enlisted pay grade, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge.

SOURCE: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/bradley-manning-will-face-a-court-martial/

 

[Samstwitch]

Interesting in contrast to what Iceland's Parliamentarian thinks (Click on the Headline):

WikiLeaks: Bradley Manning Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Icelandic Parliamentarian

 

[Samstwitch]

Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years for Leaking Government Secrets

FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge on Wednesday sentenced Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for providing more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks, a gigantic leak that lifted the veil on military and diplomatic activities around the world.

The sentence is the longest ever handed down in a case involving a leak of United States government information to be reported to the public. Private Manning will apparently be eligible for parole in slightly more than eight years.

In a two-minute hearing on Wednesday morning, the judge, Army Col. Denise R. Lind, also said that Private Manning would be reduced in rank from private first class to E1, a lower rank of private and the lowest rank in the military. She said he would forfeit all pay and would be dishonorably discharged. She did not impose a fine.

Before the sentencing, Private Manning sat leaning forward with his hands folded, occasionally whispering to his lawyer, David Coombs. His sister and his aunt sat quietly behind him. When Colonel Lind read the sentence, Private Manning stood, showing no expression. He did not make a statement. Mr. Coombs is expected to speak on his behalf to reporters later today.

The materials that Private Manning gave to WikiLeaks included a video taken during an American helicopter attack in Baghdad in 2007 in which civilians were killed, including two journalists.

Immediately after the judge banged the gavel and left, military guards flanked Private Manning and hustled him out the front of the courtroom, as some half dozen supporters in the back of the courtroom stood and shouted words of encouragement at him.

“We’ll keep fighting for you, Bradley,” one shouted. Another said “You are a hero.” After Private Manning left the room, another supporter yelled, “We love you.”

The documents that Private Manning gave to WikiLeaks also exposed the abuse of detainees by Iraqi officers under the watch of American forces and showed that civilian deaths during the Iraq war were most likely significantly higher than official estimates.

“It’s outrageous,” one supporter who had been in the courtroom, Laura Watkins, 63, of Alexandria, Va., said of the sentence. “What I’ve seen is a travesty of justice.”

The judge’s decision to impose a 35-year sentence roughly split the difference between what the prosecution had requested — 60 years — and the 20 years that Private Manning had exposed himself to when he pleaded guilty to a lesser version of the charges he was facing before the trial began. Under the military system, convicts are eligible for parole after serving a third of their sentences, and Private Manning is receiving 1,294 days credit — a little more than three years — for time already in custody and for a 112-day period in which the judge ruled he was mistreated during pretrial confinement.

There have been only a handful of previous convictions in cases involving leak accusations, resulting in sentences more in the range of probation to a few years in prison. Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy specialist with the Federation of American Scientists, said Colonel Lind’s sentence reflected how much Private Manning’s case — involving leaks of entire archives, not singular documents or pieces of information — differed from what had come before it.

“This is by far the longest sentence in a leak case,” Mr. Aftergood said. “It reflects the gravity of the case and the government’s perception of the damage that was done. Among other things, it is also the most voluminous leak ever, and also the broadest in scope including diplomatic, military and other records. So it was a qualitatively new kind of leak, and the government responded aggressively.”

Colonel Lind could have sentenced Private Manning, 25, to up to 90 years. There was no minimum sentence.

Though Private Manning had pleaded guilty to a lesser version of the charges against him even before the trial, prosecutors pressed forward with a trial on more serious charges.

Colonel Lind found him guilty last month of most of the charges against him, including six counts of violating the Espionage Act, five counts of stealing government property and one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, which had never before been filed in a leak case. Conviction on that charge could have resulted in a life sentence. (Continued)

CLICK ME to see Full Article

 

[Justinian]

What they don't report is that he signed contracts. One contract to support and defend the constitution, the United States, and above all, the orders passed down by POTUS. The second was that he agreed that if given access to classified intel that he would not reveal that to ANY unauthorized person.

Now regardless of what or how people feel about exactly what he released... Fact is that he broke two contracts. Legal binding ones at that. So no, he is not a hero, I view him the same as my ex wife. Just another person that refuses to abide by their word. We have a major problem in the world today and that is that people cannot be trusted. We wonder why we need secrets, yet we cannot trust our neighbors with our lunch orders, let alone anything really important. And I'm not referring to govt secrets even. Just ask yourself if you told your friends that you were pregnant but you hadn't told your husband yet, so they needed to keep a secret... How many would post it to social media before you got home?... We have paparazzi that feel it should be public knowledge what Jennifer Anniston had for breakfast this morning and that they should be at the table watching her eat it. Where does the get drawn from this, to government secrets? .... It's not an easy answer. I can say that when I stamped classifications I would get in trouble for classifying it too high, but I just wanted to be safe. Now a days they'd just take pictures of it and hand it over to people and aren't afraid that they're doing something illegal. Our children are destroying this great nation because of their lack of integrity. IMHO

 

[Samstwitch]

Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden both broke their oaths/contracts to reveal abuses by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government is totally corrupt. The Constitution has been nullified by corrupt politicians. Takeover by the NWO is the agenda. There is no more Habeas Corpus. The U.S. Government imprisons people illegally and tortures them, some to death. The water we drink is poisoned with Fluoride, our food is poisoned, dangerous vaccines are mandatory for babies and children, the government's Propaganda tool is the Mainstream Media, the government lies to the people about everything, the list of abuses goes on and on.

So when someone working for the government breaks their oath to reveal corruption and abuse by the U.S. Government, they are justified. They are Whistleblowers. Corruption within the government can only be exposed by Whistleblowers. They should not be crucified for exposing corruption. IMO they are very brave Patriots. Someday, I hope they are recognized as such historically. Many of us consider them heroes today.

It is our duty as Americans to throw off a corrupt government. Exposing corruption within the government is included in that action.

If our Founding Fathers were here today, they would lead us in a Revolution.

PREAMBLE TO DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

 

[Justinian]

BUT, there are systems in place to report these sensitive items WITHOUT revealing them to the public. Did either of these gentlemen admit to trying this option first? Regardless of corruption, if revealing information could potentially cost the lives of our military personnel or undercover operatives in foreign countries, that is a big problem, not a solution. There is a method at EVERY level to report corruption and how to deal with it. These men are not whistleblowers, they are traitors, liars, and thieves.

I really get the whole whistle blowing thing. I do. But mark my words, all this "whistleblowing" that everyone is cheering these traitors for right now is going to do nothing but separate our friends in the world even farther from us, make it impossible to make new friends, and then open us up for a hostile takeover. Once this country is invaded then I will look every single last person that lauded these gentlemen in the face and laugh. Because at that point you will have NO freedoms. This isn't helping any kind of reformation. THis is knocking the foundations out of the very country that I have fought and bled for. IF this country were to ever go into any sort of "change"; meaning uprising happened and new government is formed...... Let me just put this out there.. I understand that as Americans we are all strong-headed. Once we make our minds up on something it is very hard to change. So me typing isn't going to affect anything anyone here thinks, and I understand that. Everyone thinks they know the true inner workings of what the government is doing. BUT you don't. There are reasons for everything, whether good or bad. But in order to effect change think of it like a house. You cannot start tearing a house down by starting in the basement, unless you want to blow it all up and start fresh. With a country you cannot start fresh. You need allies. Keep this giving up secrets going on and we will have no allies. This is not a case of piss them all off, get rid of the administration, form a new one then beg for forgiveness. It just won't work. The common American doesn't care what the goverment does. Meaning that the people needed to support any sort of change, don't care. No pissed off foreign country is going to come in and finance gorilla operations in this country.

Here's the big thing. There are only a handful of countries in the world where the people actually care what the government is doing. Most of the citizens of the world are merely trying to survive day to day living.

 

[Samstwitch]

We have lost our Freedom in America due to the corrupt government, not Whistleblowers. It does no good to report corruption to corrupt government officials.

You and I do not agree on these matters. We must agree to disagree.

 

[Justinian]

It happens a lot. However, if we as a people ever fail to disagree on subjects, then that would be a day that I fear.

But, I do see your point. I just wanted to put mine out there.

As an aside, the company I worked for after the military was constantly audited for how we safeguarded our material and if anything was wrong there were several outlets to report things to. Independent agencies outside of the government. Could they have all been corrupted, certainly. But it is what it is.

One question though.. because my company guy told us all to avoid those wiki leaks pages until this was all sorted out.. I've heard that most of what he gave up was just embarrassing information. Nothing that was really damaging to our government other than the fact that it was made top secret the personal traits and conversations of the worlds politicians which seemed to be pointless to most people. ... So my question is can anyone confirm the severity of the information released. Because personally I would rather be caught downloading 8 million movies and the anarchists cookbook than get caught going to the wikileaks page. Just IMHO.

 

[Samstwitch]

One question though.. because my company guy told us all to avoid those wiki leaks pages until this was all sorted out.. I've heard that most of what he gave up was just embarrassing information. Nothing that was really damaging to our government other than the fact that it was made top secret the personal traits and conversations of the worlds politicians which seemed to be pointless to most people. ... So my question is can anyone confirm the severity of the information released. Because personally I would rather be caught downloading 8 million movies and the anarchists cookbook than get caught going to the wikileaks page. Just IMHO.

I read that military personnel were told not to read anything online about wikileaks. So are you saying you're in the military? Because if so, well you need to read exactly what you were told not to. The gov't doesn't want military personnel to know the truth, because of exposing corruption. So far as I know, Manning didn't release anything bad...he was acquitted of aiding the enemy and espionage.

If you're in the military, you should look into the Oath Keepers.

Here is what Bradley Manning is guilty of...