Prosecutors in Bradley Manning trial rest their case

[NaturalHigh]

Source: Washington Post

Prosecutors in the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning rested their case Tuesday after hearing testimony from nearly 80 witnesses in their attempt to convict him on nearly two dozen charges, including a violation of the Espionage Act.

Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, has acknowledged providing hundreds of thousands of sensitive diplomatic and military files to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Prosecutors have sought to prove that, in doing so, he was aware that al-Qaeda would see the material.

If convicted on charges of violating the Espionage Act and of aiding and abetting the enemy, Manning could face life in prison. He has already entered a plea to lesser charges that carry a prison sentence of 20 years.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/prosecutors-in-bradley-manning-trial-rest-their-case/2013/07/02/fdacd8c2-e35b-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Did the helicopter gunners testify? n/t

[hack89]

2. Why? They were irrelevant to the charges against Manning. nt

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Are they relevant to the charge that they machine-gunned to death unarmed innocent people....

... and to the charge that the army covered that fact up up by classifying the video and then denying its existence?

Or do we prosecute only crimes of which we disapprove?

[arely staircase]

10. i dont think manning is on trial for leaking the helicopter tape

NT

[struggle4progress]

16. Stupidly enough, the video itself is the basis of one of the charges

[hack89]

13. They are very relevant to that crime.

just not to Manning's. He had legal ways to reveal that crime. He choose a different method.

[itsrobert]

3. So he escaped the death penalty

At least he can think about what he has done in his cell for the next 20 plus years.

[NaturalHigh]

4. I don't think the government ever asked for the death penalty.

[Stargazer99]

6. It is too damn bad America didn't think twice

about why we are hated around the world....Manning is just pointing out how absolute power leads to corruption and rot
My country right or wrong-my tail feathers

[totodeinhere]

9. And then there is the my country right or wrong as long as my party controls the White House crowd.

n/t

[totodeinhere]

8. Hopefully we can get a president sometime in the future who will parden him.

If for no other reason he should be released on humanitarian grounds since he has been illegally tortured by our fine and upstanding government.

[loudsue]

14. I sure hope so. But it is going to be highly unlikely.

If Obama didn't pardon former governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman, you can bet that no president is going to pardon Manning. There are far greater powers controlling things than the white house.

[Scurrilous]

15. Ask Jonathan Pollard how that worked out for him.

A pardon that is. Still waiting...

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. Bad comparison. Pollard passed along secret info for the benefit of a foreign power.

Manning made classified info available to the American public so that it could be aware of atrocities being committed by its military in its name.

Not remotely analogous situations.

Gov't will eventually pardon him because not to do so will prove too embarrassing.

[dotymed]

7. WOW

Prosecutors have sought to prove that, in doing so, he was aware that al-Qaeda would see the material.

Such sound reasoning.

"We" are the main recruitment tool for anti-American groups like AL Quieda. Are they stoopid enough to believe that most (probably all) of the people in the Middle East do not KNOW that the American Military, by order, kill innocent and "guilty" people alike.

More Kabuki theatre for the ignorant masses.

[arely staircase]

11. actually that should be easy to do

The stuff made the newspapers. You figure AQ can get a newspaper.

[warrant46]

12. More Kabuki theatre for the ignorant masses.

Sheep