Legal update
by Jeff Paterson
Dear Supporters of Bradley Manning,
Leading into our International Days of Action, here are some updates on Bradley’s legal case we can share.
From Bradley’s civilian attorney, David E. Coombs:
“I spoke with PFC Bradley Manning today. I let him know that so far the defense has received $10,000 from Courage to Resist; $5,000 from Mr. Michael Moore; and $860.00 from direct donations. Brad is aware of the fact that events are happening from today through the 19th. He has asked me to express how very thankful that he is for the support that he has received so far. Brad also told me that he looks forward to the day that he can express his gratitude in person to those that have rallied to his defense.”
We still need to raise $20,000 for the legal defense. Courage to Resist is in the process of transferring another $15,000 to Mr. Coombs at this time, and has another $15,000 set aside for legal fees.
Julian Assange informed me a week ago that he has directed WikiLeaks‘ non-profit agent to begin the process of making a substantial contribution to the legal effort. Taking into account these pledges, we still need to raise approximately $20,000 of the estimated $100,000 legal bill.
Bradley’s case going forward:
- Mr. Coombs has filed multiple motions on behalf of PFC Manning to ensure that at every stage of the process Brad’s rights are being protected.
- The case is currently on hold until a Rule for Courts-Martial 706 board can be completed. The 706 board is designed to ensure that PFC Manning is in good mental health. This type of board is common whenever it is believed that a soldier charged with an offense is under extreme emotional and mental stress. The board will likely begin its work in early October and will take about six weeks. The defense has filed a motion to have its own forensic psychiatrist sit in on the board.
- Once the board is complete, the government will likely move forward with an Article 32 Investigation (pre-trial hearing). At the Article 32 investigation, the defense will be able to call witnesses on PFC Manning’s behalf and to cross-examine the government’s witnesses. The Article 32 will likely take place sometime in early 2011.
- A court martial could take place 2-4 months after the Article 32 hearing.
Background on Mr. Coombs:
The lead defense counsel is David E. Coombs. Mr. Coombs is a civilian defense counsel with over 14 years of experience in the military justice system. Mr. Coombs was recently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserves. In his reserve capacity, he teaches evidence, criminal procedure, and trial advocacy at the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School.
Jeff Paterson
Bradley Manning Support Network, Steering Committee
Courage to Resist, Project Director
Will he have any chance of being released after the Rule for Courts-Martial 706 board, I wonder? I hope he can at least get some type of monitored release until the actual courts martial begins.
See comments about Mannings defence team posted on 2 Septemmber 2010.
You can download attorney Coombs CV as a backgounder:
https://eta.securesslhost.net/~pgpboar/viewtopic.html?f=2&t=44&sid=5112e64d59f704e9c1c49eba1c8ba82a
I want to wish Bradley Manning the best of luck in this trial, that for me is very important since i know that if world peace is ever to be seen, Bradley is one of the few risktakers that has made it possible! I truly admire his courage, and i talk for his sake when i get the chanse to… Bless U Manning / Johan (sweden)
Please stay away from Alan Young’s links (see above). He is a WikiLeaks detractor and troll.
See the comments on the article: What Happened to Our Facebook Page with 10,000+ Supporters? http://bradleymanning.org/10224/what-happened-to-our-facebook-page-with-10000-supporters/
Attorney Coombs Replies: Manning’s Defence Fund Contributions
by Alan Taylor
This is the definitive position as of 23rd September 2010 concerning Wikileaks donations to Bradley Manning’s defence fund.
Attorney Coombs confirms that no “sizable” donation has been received from ANY organisation.
The reader draws their own conclusions concerning Wikileaks sincerity concerning this subject.
Mr. Taylor,
I cannot comment on the donations that I have receive on behalf of PFC Manning without the express authorization from the donor. I can, however, tell you that I have not received a sizable donation from any organization.
Best,
David
David E. Coombs, Esq,
Law Office of David E. Coombs
45 North Main Street, 5th Floor
Fall River, MA 02720
Office: (508)xxxxxxxxxxxx
Fax: (508) xxxxxxxxxx
coombsxarmycourtmartialdefense.com
http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.com
eof
Alan Taylor
PGPBOARD Administrator
London, England
COPY OF EMAIL SENT TO WAU HOLLAND FOUNDATION
============================================
Message-ID:
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:46:28 +0100
From: alan taylor
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.1.11) Gecko/20100711 Thunderbird/3.0.6
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: Jens Ohlig
CC: “Kaplan, Jeremy”
Subject: Attorney Coombs Replies: Mannings Defence Fund Contributions
X-Enigmail-Version: 1.0.1
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Jens Ohlig; ( Wau Holland Foundation)
FYI below.. The obvious question is how much and when from Wikileaks?
Assange says Wikileaks has received over $1 million in donations since the release of the gunship video and Afghan war dairies. Should you (Wikileaks) now honour its obligation to PFC Manning?
Attorney Coombs reply is here:
(http://www.pgpboard.com/viewtopic.html?f=2&t=106 )
Regards
Alan Taylor
PGPBOARD Administrator
London, England
Again we see Alan Taylor, head cheerleader of the so-called WikiLeaks Insiders, turning acrobats for his CIA Intelligence sponsors.
Yes, Alan, it is obvious you want to get a trace on the WL funding for your intelligence friends, but it would appear they are on to you, huh? Not surprising for a superior intelligence.
This is very serious, Wikileaks should now give details of the donation, it will kill such stories.
You cannot answer these things with just accusations and CIA stories.
Hans
Bradley Manning is getting the support he needs now. I’m sure the donations will continue to come in.
I hope WikiLeaks doesn’t give a penny to BM’s defense fund to spite people like Alan Taylor above. Then they can cry, “see, we told you so, told you so…”
But guess what? I will still support WikiLeaks and Julian Assange because it is people like Alan Taylor with personal vendettas who are trying to ruin WL and JA for their own sick satisfaction. Very sad people.
Bradley Manning is a hero and I can hardly wait until he is out of prison and can tell his side of the story. There is a place for him in Canada!
He should be tried in a civil court. A military court is as good as a kangaroo court.
The US is no better than a banana republic. What is Barack Obama doing? What is his stand on freedom of speech?
Manning is being tried in a Military court… Lawyers are provided free of charge (See movie – A Few Good Men). So I am wondering why there is a defense fund for him.
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