Bradley Manning Defers Plea in WikiLeaks Case

He puts it off for now during arraignment at Fort Meade
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 23, 2012 2:18 PM CST
Bradley Manning Defers Plea in WikiLeaks Case
In this Dec. 22, 2011, photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted from a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

An Army private chose not to enter a plea today to charges he made the biggest leak of classified information in US history. Bradley Manning also put off a choice of whether to be tried by a military jury or a judge alone. He was arraigned before Col. Denise Lind at Fort Meade near Baltimore. A trial date has not been set.

Manning faces 22 counts, including aiding the enemy. That charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The others carry a combined maximum of 150 years. He allegedly gave the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks more than 700,000 documents and video clips. Defense lawyers say Manning, now 24, was troubled and shouldn't have had access to classified material. (More Bradley Manning stories.)

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