Constitutional rights of redress. A demand this country adhere not just to the principles upon which it was founded, but something greater. Truth in Publishing, call it. Else the colors of our flag will run once more with the blood of tyrants, at a minimum. FROM TRUTHOUT.ORG "During the proceedings government prosecutors painted Manning as a traitor, anarchist and narcissist who had a “general evil intent” in disclosing classified information that he knew would get to enemies of the United States. But this portrait of Manning appeared to be in stark contrast with his actions. Manning has admitted to sending hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, but his defense says he carefully culled through the documents, revealing only the those which implicated the U.S. military in war crimes and malfeasance.Manning has dodged the most serious charge in “aiding the enemy” in leaking classified information. Previously, all those found guilty of “aiding the enemy” charges have given classified information directly to an enemy of the United States, most commonly in the form of POWs who gave information to war-time enemies. In a legal filing last week, Manning’s defense attorney David Coomb’s requested a mistrial on all charges relating to the embezzlement of government property in violation of a federal statute after Judge Col. Lind allowed the prosecution to alter the charges relating to that statute after legal arguments had already been made. The government sought to change the legal language, asserting Manning stole “databases” instead of specific records from those databases.The change is legally significant to the case, and since Coombs had already made his arguments, he cannot retroactively change his questioning or arguments in the five counts of theft Manning has now been convicted of. Coomb’s renewed the motion for a mistrial July 25. Manning’s court-trial has been shrouded in secrecy throughout the proceedings. Court documents have been withheld and redacted and any media presence has been heavily monitored, including having armed military police peering over their shoulders to view their laptops while inside the media center at Ft. Meade."
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 20:27:51 +0000
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