Bradley Manning pleads not guilty to “aiding the enemy” charge
■ In a statement in military court Thursday, Army Private Bradley Manning pleaded not guilty to “aiding the enemy,” the most serious of 22 charges against him for his part in allegedly leaking classified documents to whistleblower organization WikiLeaks.
■ Through his lawyer, David Coombs, Manning offered guilty pleas to 10 of the charges related to disclosing evidence of war crimes. Manning related to the court Thursday that after finding the video of a US helicopter gunning down innocent civilians including children and journalists in Iraq—later published by WikiLeaks under the title “Collateral Murder”—he contacted multiple media outlets to pass them the files. Politico.com, the Washington Post, and the New York Times were among the organizations Manning approached before he turned to WikiLeaks.
■ Among the leaked material attributed to Manning’s activities are video evidence of war crimes committed by US forces in Iraq, high Afghan civilian casualty figures and US atrocities not admitted by the Pentagon, and diplomatic double-dealing on the part of the State Department.
Associated Press: Army GI says he leaked secrets to spark war debate
The Guardian: Manning plea statement: Americans had a right to know 'true cost of war'
Russia Today: Bradley Manning admits to leaking 'the most significant documents of our time’ - Video