WikiLeaks suspect challenges tribunal

FORT MEADE, Maryland (AFP) – A US soldier accused of giving classified documents to WikiLeaks appeared in court Friday for the first time, with the defense immediately calling for the presiding officer to step down. Bradley Manning, a former intelligence analyst, is accused of downloading 260,000 US diplomatic cables, videos of US air strikes and US military reports from Afghanistan and Iraq between November 2009 and May 2010.

But his defense lawyer urged the investigating officer, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza, to recuse himself from the case involving one of the worst intelligence breaches in American history.

“The defense is filing a motion for you to recuse yourself,” civilian lawyer David Coombs said after the hearing, Manning’s first appearance in court since his arrest in May 2010, got underway.

The hearing, being held in a courthouse on Fort Meade, the headquarters of the top secret National Security Agency, immediately went into recess for the request to be considered.

The so-called Article 32 hearing is to decide whether Manning, who turns 24 on Saturday, should face a formal court-martial — a determination made by the investigating officer.

Manning, dressed in a green camouflage uniform and wearing thick black glasses, appeared calm as he sat at the defense table, fiddling with a pen, jotting down notes and chatting with his civilian and military attorneys.

Besides Coombs, Manning is represented by two military-appointed lawyers at the hearing, which is being attended by around four dozen members of the public and media from around the world.

Manning, who was serving in Iraq at the time of the alleged offenses, could face life in prison if convicted of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the 22 charges he is facing.

The hearing opened with the investigating officer reading the charges against Manning, asking whether he understood the charges, his rights and was satisfied with his defense counsel.

“Yes, sir,” Manning replied crisply to each question.

When it was his turn to speak, Coombs, Manning’s civilian lawyer, immediately demanded that Almanza recuse himself from the case.

Coombs questioned whether Almanza, a US Army reservist who is on leave from his job as a prosecutor at the Justice Department, could be impartial in deciding whether the case should proceed to a court-martial.

Coombs said Almanza had also rejected most of the witnesses requested by the defense — which had included US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former defense secretary Robert Gates — and that was evidence of bias.

“An individual looking at this from the outside, a reasonable person, would say clearly this is biased,” he said.

Coombs also said Almanza had rejected a defense request for portions of the hearing to be closed.
Military prosecutors then asked for a recess to consider the defense motion.

A US Army legal expert attending the hearing said such a defense request for a recusal was “not uncommon” but declined to speculate as to whether it would be successful or not.

Anti-war activists see Manning as a hero. And his supporters, including Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, were planning to hold vigils and rallies outside the gates of Fort Meade during the hearing.

In instant message chats with Adrian Lamo, the former computer hacker who turned him over to the authorities, Manning said the material “belongs in the public domain” and its release would hopefully trigger “worldwide discussion, debates and reforms.”

“I want people to see the truth, regardless of who they are, because without information you cannot make informed decisions as a public,” Manning said in the chat logs in which he used the handle “bradass87.”

The US government, however, has denounced the document dump as a “criminal” move which endangered national security and foreign policy.

Clinton, speaking on the eve of Manning’s hearing, said it was a “very unfortunate and damaging action… that put at risk individuals and relationships.”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, under house arrest in Britain awaiting potential extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges, has denied knowing the source of the leaks, but has defended Manning as a victim of US government mistreatment and raised funds for his defense.

On Friday Assange was granted permission to appeal his extradition and a hearing will start on February 1.