Salon.com > Whistleblowing

Adrian Lamo opens up about life after turning in Bradley Manning

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:20:00 +0000

The Guardian Thursday published a fascinating IM interview with Adrian Lamo, the hacker-turned-journalist and minister who famously turned Bradley Manning in to the Department of Defense after the young soldier confided in Lamo through online chats.

Lamo's elegant responses show a man attempting to detach himself from the realities of Manning's harsh detention and worrying legal prospects. They also show a man with enough philosophical soundness to reject questions about acting with hindsight.

Lamo told the Guardian's Ed Pilkington that he has not closely followed Manning's recent pretrial hearings:

It's not because I take it lightly, but because I take it as seriously as I do. Making the choice to interdict a man's freedom knowing it could mean his life, is something that's easy to judge but can only really be understood by living it. You either fold it into your character, come to terms and go on with your life, or you get stuck in that moment forever. For a while I thought I would be. I took it badly. But I came to terms and continued my life some time ago. It has, after all, been two years.

... I knew my actions might cost him his life. In that respect, any other outcome is preferable.

Julian Assange wants to run for office

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:30:00 +0000

According to Australian news sources, Julian Assange plans to run for a seat in the Australian Senate in 2013 under the banner of the "WikilLeaks Party." News site the Age reported that Assange has said plans for registering the party were "significantly advanced" and that “a number of very worthy people admired by the Australian public” have expressed interest in standing on the WikiLeaks ticket.

Unsurprisingly, Assange said the party platform would push for greater government transparency and against creeping intrusions on individual privacy. "Polls inside Australia show that Assange could conceivably stand a chance of winning in either New South Wales or Victoria," the Age noted.

Manning’s lawyer shares anger with supporters

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:32:00 +0000

David Coombs, the lawyer representing Bradley Manning gave his first speech in a civilian setting Monday, sharing with supporters of the accused soldier his thoughts about the U.S. military and government's harsh treatment of his client. Coombs addressed Manning's supporters gathered in a Unitarian church in Washington and pulled no punches with his criticism.

"Brad’s treatment at Quantico will forever be etched into our nation’s history as a disgraceful moment in time,” he said. “Not only was it stupid and counter-productive, it was criminal. An entire group of individuals, who I have no doubt were honorable, chose to turn a blind eye to how he was being treated … They cared about something more: the media impact.”

Prosecutors exhibit Bradley Manning’s noose

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:43:00 +0000

On Friday, U.S. government prosecutors cross-examined Pfc. Bradley Manning at his pretrial hearing at Fort Meade. Manning testified Thursday and Friday as a part of a motion brought by his defense arguing that the detained soldier suffered “unlawful pretrial punishment.”

The prosecution produced grim props in an attempt to justify Manning's stringent detainment regime as a necessary means to keep the soldier from committing suicide. The chief prosecution lawyer, according to the Guardian's Ed Pilkington's courtroom reports, held up a knotted pink bedsheet -- a makeshift noose Manning reportedly fashioned in U.S. military custody in Kuwait, just days after his arrest. "The prosecutor also produced a second noose made from sandbag ties and two metal objects that he suggested Manning may have intended to use to harm himself, though the soldier said he did not recollect those items," reported Pilkington.

Bradley Manning testifies

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:59:00 +0000

Pfc. Bradley Manning testified Thursday on the third say of his pretrial hearing at Fort Meade. In his first public speaking appearance in two years, the soldier appeared in his dress uniform and "appeared nervous," according to an AP report. Meanwhile Kevin Gosztola, who has followed Bradley Manning's case more closely than perhaps any other reporter, tweeted that Manning was "smiling," "energetic" and "intelligent" while testifying about his detainment conditions.

Manning answered questions from his defense attorney as part of a pretrial motion arguing that the detained soldier suffered “unlawful pretrial punishment” and should thus have his charges dismissed for his time spent in what amounted to solitary confinement. According to reports, Manning described in detail his conditions while detained in Kuwait and then at Quantico when he returned to the U.S.

Nobel Peace Laureates condemn prosecution of Bradley Manning

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:10:00 +0000

Nobel Peace laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize, 1984), Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace Prize, 1977) and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Prize, 1980) have published a letter in support of Pfc. Bradley Manning in The Nation, following news that the soldier is willing to take responsibility for leaking information to WikiLeaks. The Peace Prize winners wrote against the government's treatment of the soldier, who has been in prison for over 900 days.

Bradley Manning will take responsibility for Wikileaks leak

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:56:00 +0000

In exchange for the government pursuing lesser charges, the accused whistleblower has indicated that he will take responsibility for some alleged offenses, including providing information to Wikileaks. During his motion hearing Wednesday, Manning also told the court that he has chosen to have a trial by military judge, instead of a trial by jury, when his case is heard in February.

In a move known as “pleading by exceptions and substitutions,” Manning did not plead guilty Wednesday, rather his attorney put forward a plea notice indicating that the defendant will plead to some lesser included charges, but not the entirety of charges as they now stand. The motion hearing judge may choose to accept or reject the plea notice.

As Firedoglake's Kevin Gosztola reported from Fort Meade, "Pleading to lesser-included offenses makes it possible to not plea to committing offenses under the Espionage Act or Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Importantly, he can plead guilty without accepting the government’s charge that he 'aided the enemy' or 'exceeded authorized access' on his computer." If his plea notice is accepted, Manning could thus avoid facing life in prison (prosecutors have already stated that they are not seeking the death penalty -- even though an "aiding the enemy" charge can legally carry such a sentence.)

Ex-CIA officer jailed for two years for leaking torture chief’s name

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:01:00 +0000

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou pleaded guilty Tuesday to leaking to a reporter the identity of a "covert CIA officer." Kiriakou, who blew the whistle on the agency's program of extraordinary rendition and the use of waterboarding, will serve two and a half years in prison, but was only charged for revealing the identity of interrogation program chief Thomas Donahue Fletcher.

Based on Kiriakou's guilty plea, the prosecution dropped other charges including those filed under the Espionage Act. Kiriakou, 48, worked as a CIA operative during George W. Bush's first presidential term and took part in operations to capture al-Qaida suspects in Pakistan. In 2007 he spoke to ABC, revealing information about his former agency's Rendition, Detention, Interrogation (RDI) program.

The ex-agent originally faced four charges including leaking the name of the RDI program chief and the role of another CIA employee to a journalist and "two counts of violating the Espionage Act for allegedly illegally disclosing national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it," the January FBI report on the case noted.

U.S. to hand over emails about Bradley Manning’s detention

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:08:00 +0000

The judge at Pfc. Bradley Manning's Fort Meade pretrial has ordered that prosecutors hand over hundreds of emails from officers overseeing the alleged whistleblower's detention at a military brig.

According to Raw Story, "Judge Denise Lind said more than 600 emails withheld by prosecutors should be handed over to the defense, though she did not explain the reason behind her decision." Manning's attorneys requested the emails as evidence for their argument that their client was subjected to cruel and illegal treatment while detained at Quantico Marine base. Manning was held in a solitary cell, stripped naked and could wear only a suicide-proof smock to bed.

Raw Story reported that the officers' emails "discuss the military’s plans to respond to queries from reporters about Manning’s detention, preparing for protests, changes to Manning’s list of visitors and other details, according to the judge."

Glenn Greenwald took to Twitter to note that what comes from the email handover "should be very interesting."