[THS] Antiwar.com: US Offering Manning Deal to Testify Against Assange

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US Offering Manning Deal to Testify Against Assange


Case Against Assange Next to Impossible Without Manning

by Jason Ditz, December 17, 2010

Antiwar.com

http://news.antiwar.com/2010/12/17/us-offering-manning-deal-to-testify-against-
assange/

The Obama Administration is reportedly offering a plea bargain to the detained Pfc
Bradley Manning, if he agrees to testify against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
that Assange pressured him to release the various classified documents.

Manning is facing several decades in a military prison over his alleged role in the
releases, but as an active duty member of the military he is being charged under the
military's legal code, not the civilian one.

Which makes charging Julian Assange, who seems to be the administration's primary
target, considerably more difficult, as he is neither an American citizen nor a member
of the American military, nor indeed were any of his alleged misdeeds committed on
American soil.

This makes the Justice Department's hopes of prosecuting him extremely difficult, but
right now those efforts seem to be centering on claims Assange could be charged
with conspiracy for "encouraging" Manning. The only evidence to that effect is a
chatlog, and would almost certainly be dismissed as hearsay unless they can convince
Manning to testify as well.

Convincing Manning will likely be easier said than done, as the private clearly had a
strong belief in the importance of releasing the documents, and reports of his
mistreatment in detention are unlikely to make him any more friendly to the idea of a
plea deal.