Bradley Manning Linked To WikiLeaks Through Chats, Letters
December 20, 2011 by Sam Rolley
Prosecutors say they have found evidence that there was direct communication between the Army intelligence analyst blamed for the biggest leak of military secrets in U.S. history and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Pvt. Bradley Manning, who is accused of leaking thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables to the whistle-blowing website, entered the fourth day in a hearing to determine whether he will face court-martial.
A witness for the prosecution at the hearing claimed to have found chat logs between Manning and an online chat user who was identified on Manning’s computer as Assange, according to The Independent. Few details about conversations between the two have emerged.
Digital-crimes investigator David Shaver said he also found a letter accompanying some of the data Manning allegedly sent to WikiLeaks, in which the private declared he was changing history.
“This is possibly one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and revealing the true nature of 21st-century asymmetric warfare. Have a good day,” the letter read.
Manning’s lawyers have yet to acknowledge or deny his responsibility for the leak of the U.S. war and diplomatic cables, and a classified military video of an American helicopter attack in Iraq that killed 11 men and injured two children.
Publishing classified information is not usually considered a crime in the United States, but if the Federal grand jury that is currently investigating Assange finds that he directed Manning, prosecutors may be able to build a case against him more easily.
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