PFC MANNING SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS CONFINEMENT IN WIKILEAKS CASE

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
Judge Sentences Manning to 35 Years of Confinement
From a Military District of Washington News Release

FORT MEADE, Md., Aug. 21, 2013 - Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning was sentenced here today to 35 years of confinement, reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances for his July 30 conviction on a variety of charges related to publication of government information on the WikiLeaks website.

Army Col. Denise Lind, the presiding judge in Manning's general court-martial, granted credit for time served of 1,182 days for pretrial confinement and 112 days of additional pretrial confinement credit.

Manning was tried and sentenced by military judge alone by his request. He pleaded guilty to 10 separate offenses, but ultimately was found guilty of 20 offenses, including seven specifications of wrongful possession and transmission of national defense information, five specifications of theft of government information, two specifications of unauthorized access to a government computer and wrongful possession and transmission of protected government information, five specifications of violation of lawful regulations related to his computer use and storage of classified information, and one specification of wrongful publication of U.S. intelligence information.

The court-martial now is in the post-trial and appellate phase, in which the government will compile a complete and accurate record of the trial and review the findings and sentence, officials said. Manning has the right to petition the convening authority for clemency during the post-trial phase, they added.

INVESTIGATOR RECOMMENDS PFC. MANNING FACE A COURT MARTIAL FOR WIKILEAKS LEAKS

The following excerpt is from a Department of  Defense American Forces Press Service e-mail

01/13/2012 10:55 AM CST

"Investigating Officer Recommends Court-martial for Manning By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2012 - The investigating officer has recommended that Army Pfc. Bradley Manning face a general court-martial for charges of leaking classified documents, Military District of Washington officials announced yesterday. Army Lt. Col. Paul Almanza issued his recommendation yesterday, concluding that reasonable grounds exist to believe that Manning committed the alleged offenses, officials said. The 24-year-old intelligence analyst is suspected of leaking military and diplomatic documents to the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks in what officials believe is the biggest intelligence leak in U.S. history. WikiLeaks, in turn, released thousands of these documents, including classified records about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, on its website last year. Manning faces more than 20 charges alleging he introduced unauthorized software onto government computers to extract classified information, unlawfully downloaded it, improperly stored it, and transmitted the data for public release and use by the enemy. Almanza's report concluded that the charges and specifications are in proper form for the case to move forward, officials said. His recommendation follows eight days of pretrial proceedings during Manning's Article 32 hearing, with both prosecution and defense delivering their closing statements Dec. 22. An Article 32 hearing, often compared to a civilian grand jury, is a pretrial hearing to determine if grounds exist for a general court-martial, the most serious of courts-martial. The special court-martial convening authority, Army Col. Carl Coffman, will now review Almanza's report, officials said. He will determine if the charges should be handled at his level or forwarded to Army Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, the general court-martial convening authority. If convicted of all charges, Manning would face a maximum punishment of life in prison. He also could be reduced to E-1, the lowest enlisted grade, and could face forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge, officials said."