United States v. Manning
Official photograph of Manning from the United States Army
United States v. Manning was the court-martial of former United States Army Private First Class Bradley E. Manning[1] (known after the trial as Chelsea Manning).[2]
Manning was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq, where she had been stationed since October 2009, after Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker in the United States, provided information to Army Counterintelligence that Manning had acknowledged passing classified material to the whistleblower website, WikiLeaks.[3][4] Manning was ultimately charged with 22 specified offenses, including communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source, and the most serious of the charges, aiding the enemy.[1] Other charges included violations of the Espionage Act, stealing U.S. government property, charges under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and charges related to the failure to obey lawful general orders under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. She entered guilty pleas to 10 of 22 specified offenses in February 2013.[5]
The trial began on June 3, 2013.[6] It went to the judge on July 26, 2013, and findings were rendered on July 30.[7][8] Manning was acquitted of the most serious charge, that of aiding the enemy, for giving secrets to WikiLeaks. In addition to five[9][10][11] or six[12][13][14] espionage counts, she was also found guilty of five theft specifications, two computer fraud specifications and multiple military infractions. Manning had previously admitted guilt on some of the specified charges before the trial.[15]
On August 21, 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment, reduction in rank from Private First Class to Private, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge.[16] She may be eligible for parole after serving one third of the sentence, and together with credits for time served and good behavior could be released after eight years.[17][18][19]
The material in question includes 251,287 United States diplomatic cables, over 400,000 classified army reports from the Iraq War (the Iraq War logs), and approximately 90,000 army reports from the war in Afghanistan (the Afghan War logs). WikiLeaks also received two videos. One was of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike (dubbed the "Collateral Murder" video); the second, which was never published, was of the May 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan.[20]
Manning was charged on July 5, 2010, with violations of Articles 92 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which were alleged to have taken place between November 19, 2009, and May 27, 2010.[21] These were replaced on March 1, 2011, with 22 specifications, including aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it was accessible to the enemy, theft of public property or records, and transmitting defense information. Manning was found not guilty for the most serious of the charges, aiding the enemy, for which Manning could have faced life in prison.[22]
A panel of experts ruled in April 2011 that Manning was fit to stand trial.[23] An Article 32 hearing, presided over by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza, was convened on December 16, 2011, at Fort Meade, Maryland, to determine whether to proceed to a court martial. The army was represented by Captains Ashden Fein, Joe Morrow, and Angel Overgaard. Manning was represented by military attorneys Major Matthew Kemkes and Captain Paul Bouchard, and by civilian attorney David Coombs.
The hearing resulted in Almanza recommending that Manning be referred to a general court-martial, and on February 3, 2012, the convening authority, Major General Michael Linnington, commander of the Military District of Washington,[24] ordered Manning to stand trial on all 22 specified charges, including aiding the enemy. Manning was formally charged (arraigned) on February 23, and declined to enter a plea.[25]
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