Lack of evidence makes overcharging clear

 


The second week of the court martial validated claims that the government
  has overcharged Bradley Manning. The prosecution seems to lack evidence to
  support a number of the charges they had levelled, particularly in relation
  to the transfer of a video of the Farah incident, and to the use of
  unauthorized software, and unauthorized access to classified databases.
  
  *The military could not produce any of the "acceptable use" paperwork that
  should have been signed by soldiers, and which would explain computer
  policies.* In fact, the military could not produce any such paperwork for
  Manning or for any soldier stationed along with him. Further witnesses
  testified that many of the alleged unauthorized programs were commonly
  used, and music, movies, and even games were often kept on secure machines.
  
  Witnesses also testified that it is normal for intelligence officers to
  access databases to conduct research beyond the scope of an assignment and
  that it was normal to download classified documents to their local machines
  so that they could import such data into spreadsheets. Contrary to
  government charges, Bradley did have authorization to be accessing the
  classified files, and to save those files on his work computers.
  
  The prosecution also failed to link Bradley Manning to the Farah video
  discussed in the chat logs leaked by Adrial Lamo. The Farah airstrike
  incident involved the massacre of approximately a hundred civilians
  including many children. There was no evidence that Manning downloaded this
  video from CENTCOM servers (one of the charges), whereas there is evidence
  that Jason Katz, who the prosecution failed to link to Manning, did have
  access to the video. And there was no evidence linking Bradley Manning to
  Jason Katz.
  
  Lastly, prosecutors introduced online chats between Bradley Manning and a
  person identified as "pressfoundation", allegedly Julian Assange of
  WikiLeaks. An open source government database is referenced however on
  cross examination it was made clear that "pressassociation" never asked
  Bradley Manning for any documents, nor did they ask about Manning's access
  to documents.
  
  Read full reports from day 4 , day
  5  and day
  6.
  
  The court also ruled that stenographers funded by the Freedom of the Press
  Foundation will be guaranteed a media seat throughout the trial. Read
  transcripts.
  ------------------------------
  There are more Bradley Manning's
  
  This week, Edward Snowden took responsibility for blowing the whistle on
  PRISM, a secretive government spying operation that monitored American's
  phones and online communications.
  
  In an interviewwith
  Glenn Greenwald he discusses his intent behind releasing the
  classified documents, and his reasons mimic those of Bradley. In fact, in
  the interview he says that Bradley Manning is a "classic whistleblower" and
  he was "inspired by the public good."
  
  With the public becoming more and more convinced of the importance of
  whistleblowers, Time magazine has featured Bradley Manning and Edward
  Snowden, two whistleblowers, along with Jonathan Swartz an information
  activist who sadly committed suicide under duress of government
  prosecutors. Swartz has since become a symbol against government
  overprosecution.
  ------------------------------
  Taking Pride in Bradley
  
  *Dozens marched for Bradley in DC Pride last weekend.*
  
  Let us help you represent Bradley at an upcoming Pride event in your
  community!
  
  Posters, info cards, and stickers avaiable without charge for organizers.
  
  Contact Emma for more information. 
  ------------------------------
  Help us continue to cover 100%
  of Bradley's legal fees! Donate today.
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