The Bradley Manning case

Bradley Manning is an American patriot..

Bradley Manning defers plea after being formally charged with aiding the enemy

No date set for WikiLeaks suspect's trial but Manning's lawyer says he would object to any delay in the trial beyond June

the Guardian,

23 February, 2012

Bradley Manning, he US soldier accused of spilling a massive trove of military secrets to Wikileaks, was formally charged with "aiding the enemy" at the first day of his court martial on Thursday.

Manning deferred a plea to all 22 charges against him and a decision over whether he wanted a military judge or a panel to hear his case.

Wearing dress greens and heavy, dark-rimmed glasses, Manning sat though most of the 45-minute hearing with his hands clasped. He was flanked by two military lawyers and his civilian lawyer David Coombs.

No date was set for his trial to begin, although the next session was set for the 15 and 16 March. A full trial is unlikely to begin until August.

Coombs told the military judge, colonel Denise Lind, that he would object to any delay in the trial beyond June. He said that the government had indicated it would be ready for trial by April, but was now saying "it won't be until 3 August".

The lawyer said Manning had been in solitary confinement for "635 days". He said "if the government had its way" it would be "over 800 days before the trial actually begins".

Coombs said that, while the government had cited the complexity of the case and the difficulty in co-ordinating different agencies, "the defence would argue that due process rights of my client" had not been satisfied.

Manning, a former army intelligence analyst, has been detained since May 2010. Under the US constitution, a court martial must be brought within 120 days of charges being preferred.

He is accused of leaking more than 700,000 classified documents and video clips to WikiLeaks while he was serving in Iraq. Defense lawyers say Manning was a troubled soldier who should not have had access to classified material.

Manning Arraigned at Ft Meade

RT

Bradley Manning has been arraigned at Fort Meade, in what is the first step in the court martial process. Manning chose not to enter a plea today, and he also put off a choice of whether he prefers to be tried by a military jury, or simply a judge. So far the government suggested a trial date of August 3rd, which would be Manning's 800th day of confinement, but the defense objected to the date. So what's next? Jane Hamsher, Founder of Firedoglake discusses.