OBAMA:
We're a nation of laws. We don't let individuals make their own decisions about how the laws operate. He broke the law.The impropriety of Obama's public pre-trial declaration of Manning's guilt ("He broke the law") is both gross and manifest.
How can Manning possibly expect to receive a fair hearing from military officers when their Commander-in-Chief has already decreed his guilt? Numerous commentators have noted how egregiously wrong was Obama's condemnation. Michael Whitney wrote: "the President of the United States of America and a self-described Constitutional scholar does not care that Manning has yet to be tried or convicted for any crime." BoingBoing's Rob Beschizza interpreted Obama's declaration of guilt this way: "Just so you know, jurors subordinate judging officers!" And Politico quoted legal experts explaining why Obama's remarks are so obviously inappropriate.
the rest:
http://www.salon.com/news/wikileaks/?story=%2Fopinion%2Fgreenwald%2F2011%2F04%2F23%2Fmanning