Tuesday, June 26, 2012

#Manning #US Cover-Up:Manning Defence Ordered Prosecutors To Prepare A "Due Diligence Statement".

Bradley Manning
 
Bradley Manning is escorted out of a courthouse at Fort Meade, Maryland, on Monday after the one-day hearing. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
 
Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of being the source of the largest leak of state secrets in American history, has won his battle to force his military prosecutors to account for the steps they have taken to disclose to his lawyers evidence that could be crucial in his defence.

At a one-day hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland, attended by the WikiLeaks suspect, the military judge Colonel Denise Lind sided with the defence and ordered the prosecutors to prepare a "due diligence statement". This would outline in detail all the efforts the government has taken to disclose evidence during the two years since he was arrested outside Baghdad.

Manning's leading lawyer, David Coombs, has argued in motions presented to the court that the prosecution has been actively trying to avoid meeting its legal obligations to hand over information that could help in preparation of the soldier's defence.

In Monday's hearing, Coombs crystalised his objections, accusing the prosecution lawyer army Major Ashden Fein of failing to afford Manning a fair trial. "Normally, these games are not played. You hand over discovery and let the facts speak. You don't play hide the ball, and that's what the government's been doing," Coombs said, according to a report by the Associated Press.

By ordering the prosecution to prepare a "due diligence statement", the judge is casting a light on what the prosecution has – or has not – done to disclose evidence to the defence. She gave the army until 25 July to draft the statement.

Lind also came down on the side of Manning when she ordered the military prosecutors to hand over to the court so-called "damage assessments" prepared by a range of government agencies including the CIA, FBI, state department and the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, Oncix.

These assessments were carried out shortly after the whistleblower website WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and war logs, and sought to ascertain to what degree the leaks had been damaging to US national security around the world.

The defence hopes that the assessments will support its suspicion that the government concluded that WikiLeaks only caused limited harm to US national interests – thereby rendering several of the charges against Manning including the most serious one, "aiding the enemy", redundant.

During the one-day hearing, the prosecution insisted that it had met its legal obligations to Manning. "The defense is receiving the information they're entitled to receive," Fein told the court.

Manning's supporters said after the hearing that any information forced out of the government would in the end prove beneficial to his defence. "Ultimately any ruling in favour of the truth is going to favour Bradley Manning because the facts support his case that he didn't cause harm to national security," said Zack Pesavento of the Bradley Manning support network.

"What he did was a good thing – WikiLeaks played a key role in precipitating and promoting the Arab Spring."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/26/bradley-manning-prosecutors-explain-evidence?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Manning : Secrecy Trial & Cover - Up. Supports Outraae.

Supporters of WikiLeaks informer Bradley Manning say he is being tried amid far more secrecy than any terrorist in Guantanamo. They want prosecution motions, transcripts of proceeding and other material to be released to the public.

­Led by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, a specially formed coalition supporting Manning calls unconstitutional the military trial of the man, who allegedly handed over thousands of US secret papers to the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

Manning is facing 22 charges related to the infamous leak. He was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq, where he was working as intelligence analyst at a US military base.

So far not one of the motions submitted by the prosecution to the court-martial has been released. Neither were prosecution replies to defense motions, orders issued by the court or transcripts of the proceedings – even those that were fully open to the media.

Manning’s defense lawyer David Coombs published several documents related to the trial in his blog. Among them are motions pleading to dismiss 10 charges his client is facing. Eight of those are said to use unconstitutionally vague working, such as "to the injury of the US”, or “to the advantage of any foreign nation" and "relating to the national defense."

Coombs also complains that Manning was not allowed to review some 7,000 documents handed to the defense team by the army. The documents are only accessible in Rhode Island and Maryland, while the suspect is being held in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Arranging a way to study the papers was not possible.

The coalition’s petition for making the trial transparent was signed by Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks as well as several news outlets and individuals. They argue that the importance of the trial is comparable to that of Lt William Calley for the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and the legal tussle over the publication of the Pentagon Papers. Thus, they say, the public must not be kept in the dark over Manning’s prosecution.

http://rt.com/usa/news/manning-trial-secrecy-petition-208/

Manning Cover-Up:Manning judge orders prosecutors to explain alleged evidence cover-up

In response to calls from the defense, a military judge has ordered US Army prosecutors to detail their effort to obtain and share evidence they collected in the case of Bradley Manning, the man suspected of leaking classified files to WikiLeaks.

­Monday’s ruling by Col. Denise Lind is a partial victory for Manning’s defense team, which said prosecutors failed to duly share evidence they plan to present in the military trial. Of particular interest to defense lawyer David Coombs were written assessments by governmental agencies of the damage the leak allegedly caused.

Manning is charged with hurting America’s national security and assisting its enemies by sending classified materials to WikiLeaks, a charge his defense challenges. Coombs says the dragging of feet over evidence-sharing affects the suspect’s right to a fair trial.

Military prosecutor Army Maj. Ashden Fein insists that his team acts in line with its duty while collecting evidence and sharing it with the defense. He said the process was time consuming due to the large number of government agencies it involves.

Yet the judge told prosecutors to draft a "due diligence statement," detailing their work over the two years since Manning was charged. She set the deadline for July 25, but indicated that it may be pushed back if necessary.

Bradley Manning, 24, is facing 22 charges over his actions in 2009 and 2010, when he served as an intelligence analyst at a Baghdad base. He faces possible life imprisonment over the alleged crimes.

 

Monday, June 25, 2012

Bradley Manning: WikiLeaks suspect wins battle over US documents

FORT MEADE, Maryland — A US military judge ordered prosecutors Monday to share more documents with WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning after defense lawyers accused them of hiding information that could help their client's case.
For months, Manning's defense team has demanded access to reports by government agencies, including the CIA, that assessed the effect of the leak of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website.
Manning is accused of passing on a massive trove of files to WikiLeaks but his lawyers believe the reports will show the alleged disclosures had no major effect on the country's national security.....read more

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gat_yPBw1ftIBd0TQIsGoEuPJ5Tg?docId=CNG.e2dddb0ced039a6ca22b2d8bbfecc90d.991

Bradley Manning Back in Court for 1-Day Hearing (Live Blog)

Bradley Manning:Audia - Alexa O'Brien Fort Meade Threats.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Bradley Manning :Wikileaks suspect - Army court denies public access to WikiLeaks file - The Associated Press

 An Army appeals court has denied a request for public access to military court records in the case of an Army private charged with sending classified U.S. government documents to the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks....read more


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Bradley Manning : The U.S. Torture One Of Their Own - Crosby Stills And Nash - A Song For Brad.

Oltman in secret highlevel Quantico meeting re Manning's illegal pretrial confinement

 
 
Image
This month new and incriminating details have come to light about a secret meeting of high-level Quantico officials that took place on January 13, 2011, resulting in Manning's illegal punitive pretrial confinement.
On March 2, 2011, PFC Bradley Manning, then confined under Maximum custody and Prevention of Injury Watch (POI) at Quantico, where he had been since July 29, 2010, was told that his Article 138 request to be placed under Medium custody and removed from harsh and punitive pretrial confinement was denied by Daniel J. Choike, Quantico base commander (pictured at the left).

The continued placement of Manning under such terms and conditions, indeed the exacerbation of his illegal pretrial confinement in March, when he was stripped every evening and forced to stand at attention naked every morning until his unexpected transfer to Fort Leavenworth on April 20, 2011, happened despite numerous cited evaluations by brig personnel, including brig psychiatrists, who recommended his removal from Maximum Custody and POI Status.

Defense had filed the original Article 138 request on January 19, 2011, one day after Manning was placed under "suicide risk", which resulted in his remaining in his cell for 24 hours a day and being stripped of all clothing with the exception of his underwear. His eyeglasses were also removed, which left him, as he describes in "total blindness". According to defense documents, the stripping and interrogation that Manning endured was videotaped by the Quantico facility....read more


http://www.alexaobrien.com/secondsight/wikileaks/bradley_manning/witness_profiles_us_v_pfc_bradley_manning/oltman_in_secret-quantico-meeting-manning-illegal-pretrial-confinement.html

Monday, June 18, 2012

Bradley #Manning:#4Corners: The Forgotten Man - Airs This Evening.

Private Bradley Manning was the man U.S. authorities allege stole classified military files, providing them to WikiLeaks for publication.

While WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange battles to avoid extradition from the United Kingdom to Sweden, on the other side of the Atlantic Bradley Manning is facing a court martial. If found guilty he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

It's a case that has all the hallmarks of a spy thriller. Bradley Manning was a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq, when he allegedly downloaded classified files onto a disk storing Lady Gaga songs. It's alleged he then confided what he'd done to a computer hacker. A short time later the authorities arrested Manning and he's been in a military jail ever since.

Early last year reporter Quentin McDermott told the story of Bradley Manning and the people who'd helped the United States government build a case against him. Now Four Corners reprises the program, updating it with crucial new elements describing the ferocious battle between hackers and the U.S. government as they pursue Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
The program also talks to Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, about the treatment of Bradley Manning. Mr Mendez says Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment during his "excessive and prolonged isolation" at Quantico Marine Corps Base outside Washington.

The question remains: will Bradley Manning attempt to avoid a life sentence by turning against Julian Assange?

The reprise of "WikiLeaks- The Forgotten Man", reported by Quentin McDermott and presented by Kerry O'Brien goes to air on Monday 18th June at 8.30 PM on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 19th June at 11.35 PM. It can also be seen on ABC News24 on Saturday at 8.00 PM, on ABC iview or at 4 Corners.


Show transcript
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2012/06/14/3525291.htm

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

#Manning: Help Support Alexa O'Brien - U.S. V. Manning-Assange Wikileaks And The Press.

http://www.alexaobrien.com/timeline_us_versus_manning_assange_wikileaks_2012.html


Brutal: Bradley Manning, held responsible for the WikiLeaks debacle, is stripped naked and given a suicide-proof smock to wear each night
Brutal: Bradley Manning, held responsible for the WikiLeaks debacle,  stripped naked and given a suicide-proof smock to wear each night !

#Manning:Preview Of Motions In Upcoming Bradley Manning Hearing.

By Nathan Fuller, Bradley Manning Support Network. June 4, 2012.

Bradley Manning at Fort Meade, MD.
There is more secrecy surrounding the U.S. military’s ongoing prosecution of PFC Bradley Manning than the much-criticized Guantanamo Bay trials.. The hearings aren’t closed-door sessions, but more insidiously, they include no public records, no transcripts, and no public motions from the government. They provide so little media access that the Center for Constitutional Rights and several media organizations are suing the military for more transparency. The lawsuit follows protests from a coalition of media figures who say that they have been blocked from accessing even basic information about the trial.

To counter this extreme secrecy, Bradley’s attorney David Coombs has been publishing defense motions on his blog, so the public and members of the media can access these documents to better understand and accurately report on Bradley’s trial. The government redacts even these motions, but they still provide a window into what will come of the hearings that the military wouldn’t otherwise provide.

Coombs posted five motions for Bradley’s next courtroom appearance, the motion hearing at Ft. Meade from June 6-8, giving us a glimpse at what to expect. The first motion denounces the prosecution’s handling of evidence, concealing obviously relevant material to maintain an upper hand over the defense. The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington summarized the motion earlier this week:

“…the government has failed to disclose key evidence that could help Manning defend himself against the charges.
Almost two years after Manning was arrested, the military has not yet completed a search even of its own files to see if there is any material beneficial to the defence – as it is legally obliged to do.”...read more
http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/incompetence-or-deception-probing-two-years-of-evasion-in-the-prosecution-of-bradley-manning

#Manning:#Pentagon Supress #WikiLeaks Documents | TG Daily

The Pentagon is currently refusing to release 250,000 pages of documents assessing the damage and fallout related to the transfer of classified documents to WikiLeaks by Pfc. Bradley Manning. 



David Coombs, Manning's civilian lawyer, has filed a motion to obtain the documents, which could prove crucial in preparing Manning's defense. 



Pentagon suppresses WikiLeaks documents"

By morphing, distorting and constantly changing definitions, the government is trying to 'define' itself out of producing relevant discovery," Coombs wrote in legal documents cited by the UK-based Guardian.

"This is very disconcerting to the defense... [And] it cannot be permitted to do this... "The defense believes that no defense discovery request would ever be 'just right' to satisfy Goldilocks."

"

As TG Daily previously reported, Pfc. Bradley Manning is facing a total of 22 charges - including aiding the enemy - after thousands of classified documents downloaded by the former army intelligence analyst ended up on WikiLeaks.

Manning and Coombs are currently seeking the dismissal of no less than 10 criminal counts. As noted above, the Pentagon, says Coombs, has failed to disclose key evidence that could help Manning defend himself during an upcoming military trial.


"That the government cannot get its ducks in a row with respect to discovery which is clearly under its control does not inspire confidence," Coombs wrote last week. 


"Why would the government wait until over a year after to begin its search? How could the government not have noticed that for nine months, it had not received any material from any principal officials in the army? If the government cannot even search its own files properly, how can we believe them when they say they have diligently searched the files of other organizations?"

A military judge will hear oral arguments at a pretrial hearing starting June 6 at Fort Meade, Md, while Manning's military trial is slated to begin on September 21.

If found guilty, the former army intelligence analyst will likely spend the rest of his life in the brig without the chance of parole.

 

Bradley #Manning : Forte Mead Motion Hearing.

Alex O'Brian transcribing Bradley Manning Motion hearing . Please follow Alex on twitter.


https://twitter.com/#!/carwinb