Statement on closed hearing decisions
By the Bradley Manning Support Network. December 19, 2011
FORT MEADE, MARYLAND — Shortly before 6:00 PM on the third day of Bradley Manning’s Article 32 pre-trial hearing, Lt. Colonel Paul Almanza, the investigating officer presiding over the hearing, permitted the government’s request to remove journalists and the public from portions of hearings set for today. An objection by PFC Manning’s lead attorney, David Coombs, was noted in the record without any further action.
The Bradley Manning Support Network is deeply troubled by the imposition of an unexplained media blackout without any avenue for redress. The investigating officer has already prevented Manning’s defense from considering internal administration assessments that found these materials didn’t pose a threat to national security. Now he is seeking to prevent journalists and the public from reporting on testimony related to materials that are already in the public domain. Notably, even members of the public who hold relevant security clearances are expected to be removed from viewing the proceedings. Amy Jacobsen of the Center for Constitutional Rights and cooperating counsel for WikiLeaks — who holds the highest level of Top Secret security clearance — is also expected to be denied entrance. We are concerned that representatives of unnamed “relevant government agencies” will be permitted to remain in the room. Lt. Col. Almanza should at a minimum be transparent about which government agencies he has deemed relevant to this matter. In particular, he needs to disclose whether he will permit representatives of the Department of Justice to remain in the room during the blackout. The Department of Justice is the investigating officer’s permanent employer and is also conducting an ongoing investigation into WikiLeaks.
For more information on the appeal by the Center for Constitutional Rights to guarantee access to WikiLeaks attorneys:
http://ccrjustice.org/
I affirm this petition for the sake of balance, transparency and justice.
Respectfully,
Isabelle Giraud
Where is the ‘commander and chief’ that I thought I was voting for? Missing in action I presume.
With all due respect Mr. Obama, you sold us out
This secret trial is a direct violation of our constitutional right to due process and therefore these preceding are illegal and people should be outraged that this going on in America, this is high treason. The people that should be on trial are the war criminals that gave the orders to commit the war crimes or have allowed war crimes and then hide behind National Security, Bradley Manning is a hero and he represents the truth about war crimes and they should be investigated by the international courts if there is any moral justice left in the world. Bradley Manning did his job, he swore to protect and defend the United States Constitution against foreign and domestic enemies and instead of being rewarded he is being prosecuted for exposing the truth, war crimes. Bradley Manning represents compassion, love for all human beings and above all justice for all mankind. Where is the compassion,love and justice for our hero Bradley Manning. My prayers of compassion,love and justice be with and may god be with you, the of justice and truth,God Bless.
Bradley Manning has been punished for being an American hero. This is not the America I want for my country. Where is the justice, the honor, and the truth that we citizens deserve? Please let Bradley Manning have back his freedom; to do so would let the rest of us know that we can still call this the land of the free.
For one, it’s not a secret trial…we all know of it. And, it’s not uncommon to limit exposure when there are people who may disrupt the trial or material presented that should not be freely distributed. Also, Manning was/is a pissed off punk because he felt he was mistreated (could be valid…don’t know the details). He probably did this out of spite and was ignorant or so far off in his mental la-la land that he thought no one would know he did it. He’s surely no hero. Also, not sure how you can say that he did his job except out of pure ignorance or blinded by your bias. He swore an oath to protect the US. Whether you like it or not, when you VOLUNTARILY enlist/join the military…you have chosen the path to uphold the oath. He violated that and should be prosecuted as is appropriate. Whether you think or he thought the war was justified is immaterial. That’s like justifying the killing of an abortion doctor because he performs legal abortions, but you’re against abortion…the doctor’s murderer is still guilty of murder. If you disagree with the mission of our armed forces…don’t join. If you join, be expected to perform as true to your oath…and yeah, that means you might have to do things that lead to the loss of life. It’s a bit of a no-brainer.
Yeah, Tim. War is hell , and when soldiers just go ahead and shoot up anyone like in a video game, other soldiers should just keep that top secret, right? And if you do something wrong, or are suspected of doing something the Gov’t takes issue with, you’ll be happy to be thrown in detention without trial for as long as your officials see fit. Isn’t that right? Don’t forget to let soldiers dress you up like a Christmas tree and electrocute you while standing on a soapbox like in Abu Ghraib. Because yeah if you’re pissed off about it, you might just “break the law”, and complain.
51% VOTING MAJORITY — EXCESSIVE WEALTH HAS SPOKEN
Tim 51%
“For one, it’s not a secret trial…
Manning was/is a pissed off punk…
He probably did this out of spite…
in his mental la-la land that he thought no one would know he did it…
He violated that oath (to kill when ordered to) and should be prosecuted…
Whether you think… the war was justified, this is immaterial…”
LIGHT
Now is above Tim of the slow and careful thinking laboring-class, the 49% with no education beyond some high school?
Surely not, so Tim is of the 51% who happen to be the most educated and wealthy in Empire USA, the 51% voting majority who own all the wealth and love to vote in a way that best enslaves the impoverished lower half.
For exactly what has Bradley Manning done that so upsets Tim?
Well, without Manning our troops would still be occupying Iraq and all those billions and billions of barrows of oil would forever be inflating the profits oi Tim’s 401k plan
Without Manning, Egypt would not be on the verge of charging Israel full price for all the natural gas being piped to Israel, Egypt would not now be about to open the prison gates of Gaza and all the harm Manning has done to Tim’s 401k plan — surely Tim is now “a pissed off punk.”
NEL TEMPO DELL’INGANNO UNIVERSALE DIRE LA VERITA’ E’ UN ATTO RIVOLUZIONARIO”
free bradley manning
Tim, Bradley swore to uphold and defend the Constitution, not the government in accordance with the UCMJ. His oath as mine put us under the obligation among many things to stop/expose crimes. He did he best he could.
“The turning point for Manning apparently came when he was ordered to investigate the arrest of Iraqis for the distribution of “anti Iraq” literature by the Iraqi Federal Police. When Manning discovered that the literature in question was a “benign political critique” of Iraq Prime Minister Al-Maliki, Manning reported the incident to Army superiors who told Manning “to shut up.” Manning apparently then began to leak classified materials in an effort to “do the right thing.”
Let’s face it…Manning’s leadership failed him, he should have never been deployed.
While we should be concerned about the media blackout, we should also take note of the negative coverage pervading the airwaves.
http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/blog/?p=5130#.TvEmC0q8ymG
Tim who posted a comment 12.19.11 @ 1:25 pm speaks about no-brainers. Well, he should know, I suppose. Yes, Manning swore an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution, not an oath to protect criminals. The soldiers who murdered innocent civilians are criminals. The military industrial complex bosses who ignore and cover up those crimes are also criminals. Homeland Security director Jane Napolitano has told the nation, “if you SEE something, SAY something.” Someone, whether it was Manning or some other person, saw criminal wrongdoing and brought it to light. Id est, s/he SAW something and SAID something. This is what is meant by protecting the Constitution from all enemies, both foreign AND DOMESTIC.
I support Breanna Manning. There’s lots of info that Bradley Manning is transgender, female-identified, and prefers the name Breanna. Let’s help really support her & call her by her preferred name.
http://feministing.com/2011/12/22/why-does-the-media-and-her-supposed-supporters-continue-to-misgender-breanna-manning/
This is sad to hear. I have admired the US and its citizens for their vigorous support of free speech and other consitutional rights. I hope that the judge will allow the public to be present where material already in the public domain is being scrutinised/discussed.
Justice must be seen to be done, right?
Where is the commander and chief in all of this someone asked? Obama already declared Brad guilty many months ago in the forum of the Big Media Machine. Sadly for Brad and for all of us, he’ll receive no fair hearing after that happened.
‘Commander in Chief Obama’ did not sell us out. All those who voted for Obama four years ago sold us out. Obama clearly indicated his intentions to escalate the violence in Afghanistan/Pakistan and obey the bidding of Israel when he was on the campaign trail, but alas, many did not hear what they chose not to hear.