Bradley Manning defence gets report on WikiLeaks damage to US interests

Source: The Guardian

Bradley Manning defence gets report on WikiLeaks damage to US interests

Ed Pilkington at Fort Meade
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 June 2012 20.28 BST

Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of being the source of the biggest leak of state secrets in American history, has won a partial victory in his battle to force the government to disclose vital information that could help his defence.

The judge presiding over his trial at Fort Meade in Maryland has ordered the US government to hand over several confidential documents relating to the massive leak to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

In particular, the Obama administration must now disclose to Manning's lawyers some of the damage assessments it carried out into the impact of the leak on US interests around the world.

Should those assessments reveal that the US government found that the fallout from WikiLeaks was limited, that could be used by Manning's defence to argue his innocence against some of the charges he faces, such as aiding the enemy. If the soldier is found guilty, the information might then prove invaluable in reducing any sentence.

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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/06/bradley-manning-defence-wikileaks-damage