Off the AP wire, through The Army Times,*
y David Dishneau – The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Nov 8, 2012 7:15:19 ESTFORT MEADE, Md. — The Army private charged with sending reams of government secrets to WikiLeaks is offering to plead guilty to some offenses.
Pfc. Bradley Manning’s civilian defense attorney, David Coombs, revealed the offer Wednesday during a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade. The hearing continues Thursday.
Coombs said Manning isn’t pleading guilty to the offenses charged by the government. Rather, he is offering to take responsibility for less serious offenses that are encapsulated within the charged crimes.
Even if the court accepts the offer, military prosecutors could still try to prove Manning guilty of the more serious charges. They include aiding the enemy, punishable by life imprisonment.
Coombs also said Manning has elected to be tried by a military judge, not a jury, at his trial in February.
*Also available here if there’s a paywall issue at Army Times.
There’s also an announcement his lawyer’s website that pretty concisely explains what he’s doing.
This is completely new to me. I haven’t seen anything else on it yet, and I haven’t talked to the military lawyers whose brains I sometimes pick on this stuff, so you know what I know.
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