Bradley Manning Espionage Act Conviction a Blow to Both Whistleblowers and Journalists

Bradley Manning Espionage Act Conviction a Blow to Both Whistleblowers and Journalists

Bradley Manning Espionage Act Conviction a Blow to Both Whistleblowers and Journalists

Manning—the admitted source to the WikiLeaks disclosures—has been convicted on nineteen counts, including multiple Espionage Act... ...faces over 100 years in jail. While the most pernicious charge, “aiding the enemy,” was thankfully rejected by the military judge, this decision is a terrible blow to both investigative journalists and the sources they rely on to inform the public.

Manning is now the most high profile conviction under President Obama’s crackdown on leakers.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:

Manning’s conviction seen as making prosecution of WikiLeaks’ Assange likely

Manning verdict blow for investigative journalism and its sources

The Bradley Manning verdict is still bad news for the press

Bradley Manning Verdict Could Intimidate Future Whistleblowers



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:

Bradley Manning found not guilty on "Aiding the enemy".

Bradley Manning trial: judge to read verdict – live coverage

Bradley Manning Verdict Expected Today.

Video: I AM BRADLEY MANNING

Reaction by WikiLeaks lawyer Jen Robinson



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Jen Robinson ‏@suigenerisjen
Verdict in #Manning proceedings means that whistleblowing = espionage. First ever successful espionage conviction against a whistleblower.

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WikiLeaksVerified account ‏@wikileaks

Assange on Manning verdict: "This is the first ever espionage conviction against a whistleblower." http://__._/Statement-by-Julian-Assange-on.html

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Glenn Greenwald Verified account ‏@ggreenwald

ACLU on Manning prosecution: "seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate" future whistleblowers www.aclu.org...

Michael Hastings, who disappeared in a fiery car crash on Jun 18 also was interested in Bradley Manning's case! More "interesting" timing...

Here are some tweets:



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@3ristar President Obama perhaps should pardon Bradley Manning.

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1/2 "Pfc Manning also details how he tried to leak the archive of secret files to both The Washington Post and The New York Times...

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Update on the Manning trial: news.bostonherald.com...

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Btw, a win for @RonPaul is a win for @wikileaks and Bradley Manning.

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and to me, barring them from visiting manning sounds like possibility of even bigger story. #wikileaks #bradleymanning

Michael Hastings was certainly working on several different stories when he was "accidented". I would not be surprised if one of them was about Manning. If you too have doubts regarding the mainstream media version of Hastings' disappearance you may want to give a look to these threads (among others):

Start with this link:Timeline of Hastings NSA Snowden Related Events


Hastings Death And The Snowden Leaks - Is There A Connection?

$100,000 Michael Hastings National Security Reporting Fellowship - A Reward To Uncover Foul Play?

Michael Hastings & WikiLeaks/Assange - this being a "companion thread" to the other two based on my sifting through Hastings' tweets

Hastings' tweets also showed support for Ron Paul: link

Bradley Manning Espionage Act Conviction a Blow to Both Whistleblowers and Journalists
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well... If he'd blown a whistle and not the whole brass section of the marching band, he might have been facing a few more options then it turns out he was, in the end. Don't Whistle blowers usually step up to some form of authority to get reform and change done against wrong doing vs. chucking the mother of all document dumping hand grenades over the wall...and hiding deep enough to hope the damage misses? Err.. Oops. It didn't. Got him pretty good, I'd say.

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


exposing murder of innocent children and civilians, is apparently against the law to these courts...our system is a joke

From DMail, that's sharing a lot of info at the source...including Manning's court timeline and how would Snowden be charged...
Supporters gather for Bradley Manning as he faces DYING in jail despite being found not guilty of being a traitor:




Thanks for keeping the updates on this. Wow, 100 years, that's plain absurd. The First, Fourth, Fifth ....Amendment of the Constitution all being violated by this corporate control.

#NoJustice #Manning #FreeBradleyManning

Hes still a good man and good men in prison dont get the rough ride "actual" criminals yet.

Unfortunately, to make an omelet you have to break some eggs.

Should he be in prison for the rest of his life? no.

USA cant be seen to invite whistle blowers to do what they do, but also must recognize that breaches like this help make things more secure. Like a hacker showing a company where its weakness are and getting paid by them to.

Well I'd say the chances of Snowden ever willingly returning to the US has dropped to 0%, if it wasn't already. I was watching this earlier on the news and they showed the controversial clip he leaked. I just wonder what message this sends to children when they see it on the news. I can possibly grant the argument that he technically broke the law and leaked more stuff than he probably should have, but a life sentence seems far too harsh. Doesn't his exposure of war crimes count for anything at all. This sends the message that if you see someone with "authority" committing a crime you should just shut up about it or risk a long time in prison... that's the message this sends our kids.

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
This sends the message that if you see someone with "authority" committing a crime you should just shut up about it or risk a long time in prison... that's the message this sends our kids.

Completely agree.

"Mommy why is that man hurting that other man"
"It doesnt matter because hes waring a uniform. Now stop looking or you will get us both in trouble"

Im beginning to see where all the nazi references are coming from now, its a slippery slope America...

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


Here is an idea...

People need to learn what a Whistle Blower is.
People need to learn what information qualifies under Whistle Blower Statutes.
People need to learn the difference between Whistle Blowing as a civilian and Whistle Blowing as a member of the Us Armed Forces.
People need to learn that leaking information of a criminal act, and then burying that info under hundreds of thousands of classified documents that contain absolutely no criminal actions is not whistle blowing.
People need to learn that Manning knew exactly what his position in the military was and how he got into that position and what the consequences would be if he violated the laws in that area.

Manning is nothing more than a whiny little b*t*h who decided to go down this road because people didn't like him all that much.

If people want to cover what a whistle blower is follow the Snowden drama.

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


UCMJ convictions carry no legal weight - they are related to military codes of conduct only, and NOT to jurisprudence in the USA.

Originally posted by Xcathdra
reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex

 

Here is an idea...

People need to learn what a Whistle Blower is.
People need to learn what information qualifies under Whistle Blower Statutes.
People need to learn the difference between Whistle Blowing as a civilian and Whistle Blowing as a member of the Us Armed Forces.
People need to learn that leaking information of a criminal act, and then burying that info under hundreds of thousands of classified documents that contain absolutely no criminal actions is not whistle blowing.
People need to learn that Manning knew exactly what his position in the military was and how he got into that position and what the consequences would be if he violated the laws in that area.

Manning is nothing more than a whiny little b*t*h who decided to go down this road because people didn't like him all that much.

If people want to cover what a whistle blower is follow the Snowden drama.

Absolutely agree with the above. Had Manning limited his involvement to leaking of information related to criminal acts, he might have been able to claim complete immunity under whistleblower laws. No guarantee at all, but it might have happened.

But what did he do instead? He didnt just shoot himself in the foot, he used a damn bazooka to do it. The guy cut his own throat with the way he went about it.

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


The legal definition of Espionage:

The practice of secretly gathering information about a foriegn government or industrial rival, with the intention of placing ones own government or industrial entity, in a position of advantage, over its competitors and rivals.

This hasnt happened. Manning had no intention of placing any one government in an advantageous position when compared to the USA, and his actions cannot have given an advantage to his own government. His actions can only be seen as espionage, if espionage includes being truthful with the public of ones own nation, about crimes and poor practice committed by its own government against the constitution upon which that government was founded. It does not, therefore, by any reasonable measure, he is not guilty of such a thing.

The verdict is spurious, the judgement goes against every possible permutation of the much vaunted constitution, against the will of free thinking people in the US, and makes the USA look worse than its enemies, and this judgement does far worse damage to Americas reputation globally than ever the leaks themselves could have.

Appalling, disgusting, unjustifiable... just some of the terms which this judgement could reasonably be tagged with. Rest in peace America. Your land of the free just died.

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex


BM was neither a Whistle-blower or a Journalist.

His conviction reinforces the government's spreading policy of say nothing against them no matter what. It's a very slippery slope to demand that your citizens scrutinize each other & report it, "to keep everyone safe" (what a crock) but disallowing those very citizens from keeping the overlords in check. That's not keeping citizens safe, not protecting safety-ensuring secrets. It's submission.
What good comes of blind eyes when poor or ghastly ethical choices are simply swept under the rug? "That suspiciously large pile under this here floor rug? Never mind it, move along. NOW." Every now and then, someone's got to push past the person saying move along, and lift the rug to show to hidden body laying there. We can't play deaf, dumb & blind & get away with it because there is no excuse to do so. Ever.

"If you see something, say something"
Unless it makes the military or government look incompetent and immoral. Then just keep your mouth shut. I hope someone busts him out, that would be great

Whistle blowing does not equal espionage .. Manning was convicted on charges he agreed to .. that was pretty much no contest, he did that to avoid, or minimize the risk of being charged with "Aiding the Enemy" .. he plea bargained .. at least now he will likely have the possibility of parole .. so early release is quite possible.

I love all the dark hats posting its stuff he agreed to.

I really hope people put the pressure on in such huge degrees on the political and legal system until he is out and they have their country back.

All crapola should be disclosed. How can the military and enlisted help him, by revealing everything you know to the public, together en masse.

For The People!!!!

reply to post by MindBodySpiritComplex

Thanks for keeping tabs on this, MindBodySpiritComplex
100 years isn't that long... Right?
Foot - in geologic time, he'll be out before you know it.
Pretending that this is "a turn for the worse" in the good ole USA, however - is a long stretch.
This is and has been common practice on all sides of all fences for a long time.
Businesses -
Want to get black-listed by others in an industry...? Make the dirty-doings of your employer public. Why would the rest of the industry black-list you for spoiling one of their competitors -- Because they all do it (and worse) too.
The same goes for churches, educational institutions, friends, family...
Pssssttt! I've got a secret that I just can't keep to myself...but...IF YOU ever tell anyone, I will call you a liar to the top of my lungs...and...etc...etc...etc...

In this case - imo - the government has overstepped all bounds of decency.

How can a criminal accuse, prosecute, judge, sentence and execute...another...for exposing the criminal's crimes?

That trashes all notions of fair play, justice and equity.

There is no difference between an apologist for the Military/Government's argument of - "The Law says..." - and an Auschwitz guard saying "Hitler says...".

Oh the eternal dilemma, whether to do the morally right thing or to do the thing you are told and is according to the law.
I guess Manning probably wanted to look like a hero in the eyes of some people, or was seeking attention or he was just an innocent victim of something bigger. But either way he will learn the lesson and probably get scarred(both metaphorically and literally) for life.