Bradley Manning, the Army private awaiting trial for allegedly giving thousands of classified government documents to WikiLeaks, is being denied evidence for his defense by the Obama administration.

 

David Coombs, Manning’s defense attorney, wants the government to turn over internal reports that assessed what damage the leak may have done to U.S. national security. While one assessment characterized the publishing of the records as damaging, another conducted by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded that the leak wasn’t that bad because the information “was dated, represented low-level opinions, or was already commonly known due to previous public disclosures,” according to Wired’s Threat Level.

 

Coombs wants access to the DIA report, as well as another one produced for the White House so he can block the government from calling witnesses during the trial who try to portray the leak as a serious blow to the country. But so far the Obama administration has denied Coombs’ discovery requests.

 

Manning faces 22 charges for allegedly releasing 250,000 State Department diplomatic cables and 500,000 classified Iraq and Afghanistan war reports to WikiLeaks. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to life in prison. His first pre-trial hearing will take place December 16

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Feds Withholding Evidence Favorable to Bradley Manning, Lawyer Charges (by Kim Zetter, Wired)

U.S. v. Manning (pdf)

Did Obama Ruin Case against Bradley Manning by Declaring Him Guilty before Trial? (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)