The case is once again reminiscent of the prosecution of Daniel Ellsberg for leaking the Pentagon Papers and faced up to 115 years' incarceration. During the trial it came out that the White House had broken into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office and the judge ordered those documents released to the defense. John Ehrlichman twice met with the judge during the trial and offered him the directorship of the FBI. The FBI also taped numerous conversations involving Ellsberg and did not disclose this in discovery. After a four month trial, just as the case was going to a jury the judge dismissed all charges after the government claimed it had lost records of wiretapping against Ellsberg. Judge Byrne dismissed the case ruling: "The totality of the circumstances . . . offend a sense of justice. The bizarre events have incurably infected the prosecution of this case. "
The bizarre and unfair behavior of the government in the prosecution of Bradley Manning likewise offends a sense of justice and has incurably infected the possibility of a fair trial and a just result. Short of outright dismissal it is hard to see how justice can be done.
Kevin Zeese is co-chair of Come Home America which brings people
across the political spectrum together who oppose war and empire. He is one of the organizers of the National Occupation of Washington, DC which
begins on March 30.
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