Tribunal recommends court martial for Bradley Manning
A US military tribunal is recommending a court martial for Army Private Bradley Manning for allegedly funneling thousands of classified US documents to WikiLeaks, the US Army said Thursday. - “The investigating officer (Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza) concluded that the charges and specifications are in the proper form and that reasonable grounds exist to believe that the accused committed the offenses alleged,” according to the US Army Military District of Washington. “He recommended that the charges be referred to a general court martial.” The charges include aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing it is accessible to the enemy, and theft of public property or records. Manning, 24, was the focus of a seven-day hearing last month to determine whether or not he should face a court-martial for what authorities have described as one of the most serious intelligence breaches in US history. Defense attorneys argued at the conclusion of those proceedings that the charges should be reduced. Manning, who served in Iraq from November 2009 until his arrest the following May, faces life in prison if convicted.