My copy of Bradley Manning’s charge sheet, handed to me by an Army public affairs officer as I was escorted into Judge Lind’s courtroom to hear the verdict on July 30, 2013. I scribbled “guilty/not guilty” next to each charge as she read her verdict. [XJ].
The sentencing phase in the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning is ongoing at Fort Meade, Maryland. On Tuesday, judge Col. Denise R. Lind found the 25-year-old former Army intelligence analyst guilty of 20 of the 22 charges the government brought against him. Manning was convicted on six counts of violating the 1917 Espionage Act. He was found not guilty of the most serious charge, “aiding the enemy,” which carried a possible life sentence–but the guilty charges add up to a potential 136 years in prison. The actual sentence he receives is likely to be shorter, according to military law experts.
I’ve created a Twitter list of reporters who are at Fort Meade in the media operations center, about a quarter-mile away from the closed courtroom where the proceedings are taking place. Absolutely no laptops, phones, or other communication devices allowed inside court, but back at the media center, press can use laptops to transmit updates when court is not in session (more on restrictions “>in this previous post). On the Twitter list, I included other central figures in the trial like Manning’s attorney, David Coombs, and reporters who aren’t there every day but are producing notably reliable reporting on the trial.
Trial transcripts:
The Freedom of the Press Foundation has hired stenographers (a crowdfunded effort) who are present at the trial each day to transcribe proceedings. Here are the daily transcript archives. The government is not releasing official transcripts, and these independently-provided transcripts have become valuable tools for both sides in the trial, as well as for press and public observers.
See also this blog post from the foundation (of which I’m a board member): “Bradley Manning Espionage Act Conviction a Blow to Both Whistleblowers and Journalists.”
Trial coverage, live from Ft. Meade today:
Here’s Alexa O’Brien’s latest at Daily Beast: “Questions Over Judge’s Rulings But Little Hope for Bradley Manning.”
Here’s Matt Sledge’s latest, at HuffPo: “Bradley Manning Trial Witness Says Zero Deaths Linked To Names In Afghan War Diary Release.”
Here’s Kevin Gosztola’s latest at Firedoglake: “Bradley Manning’s Sentencing: WikiLeaks, Manning Have No Blood on Their Hands from Afghan War Logs Release.”
Here’s Adam Klasfeld’s latest at Courthouse News: “Military Fails to Link Leaks With Any Deaths.”
Here’s Nathan Fuller’s latest, at the Bradley Manning Support Network blog: “Reaction to WikiLeaks: no sources killed due to war log releases: trial report, day 24.”
Here’s Charlie Savage’s latest, at the New York Times: “Manning Is Acquitted of Aiding the Enemy.”
Boing Boing’s live coverage from the courtroom:
“World awaits verdict in Bradley Manning’s trial”
“Bradley Manning found not guilty of aiding enemy, but convicted on lesser charges“