Manning gets 35 years in WikiLeaks case
FORT MEADE, Md. – Army Pfc. Bradley Manning stood at attention in his crisp dress uniform Wednesday and learned the price he will pay for spilling an unprecedented trove of government secrets: up to 35 years in prison, the stiffest punishment ever handed out in the U.S. for leaking to the media.
Flanked by his lawyers, Manning, 25, showed no reaction as military judge Col. Denise Lind announced the sentence without explanation in a proceeding that lasted just a few minutes.
With good behavior and credit for the more than three years he has been held, Manning could be out in as little as seven years, said his lawyer, David Coombs. The soldier was also demoted and will be dishonorably discharged.
By volume alone, it was the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history, bigger even than the Pentagon Papers a generation ago.
Fort Hood suspect rests case with no witnesses
FORT HOOD, Texas – The soldier on trial for the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood refused to put up a fight on Wednesday, resting his case without calling a single witness or testifying in his own defense.
Maj. Nidal Hasan could face the death penalty if convicted for the attack that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others at the Texas military base. But when given the chance to rebut prosecutors’ lengthy case – which included nearly 90 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence – the Army psychiatrist declined.
About five minutes after court began Wednesday, a day after prosecutors rested their case, the judge asked Hasan how he wanted to proceed. He answered: “The defense rests.”
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, then asked Hasan: “You have the absolute right to remain silent. You do not have to say anything. You have the right to testify if you choose. Understand?”
Pastors say suspect in shooting wasn’t violent
LITHONIA, Ga.–A man who allegedly exchanged gunfire with police at an Atlanta-area school didn’t seem to have any friends and rarely talked about his family or past during the months he lived with a couple who serve as pastors at a small church.
But Michael Brandon Hill was quiet and didn’t display anger or violent tendencies, said Natasha Knotts, the woman who took him in after he started coming to the small church where her husband is pastor and she is an assistant pastor. No one was injured in Tuesday’s standoff, bringing relief to par.
The DeKalb County Public Defender’s office said in a statement that it was representing Hill and that he has “a long history of mental health issues.” One of the office’s attorneys, Claudia Saari, said in an email that a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5.
Before going to the school, investigators say that Hill took a photo of himself with an assault rifle and packed up nearly 500 rounds of ammunition enough to shoot more than half of the school’s students, police said.
Police said Hill got the gun from an acquaintance, but it’s not clear if he stole it or had permission to take it.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with police who surrounded Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur.
U.N. calls for probe of chemical arms claim
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council is backing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for “a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation” of allegations of chemical weapons use outside the Syrian capital.
U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said earlier that the secretary-general was “shocked” at Wednesday’s alleged use of chemical weapons on the eastern suburbs of Damascus and is determined to ensure a “thorough investigation” of all reported incidents.
After a two-hour, closed-door meeting, the council president said there was “strong concern” about the allegations “and a general sense that there must be clarity on what happened.”
The attack coincided with the visit to Syria by a 20-member U.N. chemical weapons team, which only has a mandate to investigate three previous allegations of chemical weapons use.
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, expressed hope that the investigative team will be given access.
Associated Press
