Bradley Manning trial verdict: Acquitted of aiding the enemy, convicted on lesser charges

FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge Tuesday acquitted Pfc. Bradley Manning of aiding the enemy — the most serious charge the Army intelligence analyst faced for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified military reports and diplomatic cables.
 
Manning was convicted on all but one of the lesser charges considered by the judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, in connection with the website WikiLeaks’s receipt of the largest breach of classified material in U.S. history.

Manning faces a potential sentence of up to 136 years in prison on the charges he was found guilty of Tuesday. The charges to which the Army intelligence analyst pled guilty carried a potential sentence of about 20 years.

Reaction to the judge’s verdicts varied.
 
“Justice has been served today,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) said in a statement. “Pfc. Manning harmed our national security, violated the public’s trust, and now stands convicted of multiple serious crimes. There is still much work to be done to reduce the ability of criminals like Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden to harm our national security.”
 
Manning was convicted on six counts of violating the Espionage Act, but critics said such serious charges should not have been brought in the first place in a case like Manning’s.

“While we’re relieved that Mr. Manning was acquitted of the most dangerous charge, [we’ve] long held the view that leaks to the press in the public interest should not be prosecuted under the Espionage Act,” Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union said. “Since Manning already pleaded guilty to charges of leaking information – which carry significant punishment – it seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future.”

All convictions and any sentence ultimately handed down in the case are subject to review of the military officer who convened the court martial, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan of the Army’s Military District of Washington. He can lower the sentence or overturn guilty findings, but he cannot reverse Lind’s not guilty verdicts or lengthen any sentence. In addition, the case will be automatically appealed, a military legal expert said.

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