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He did what he believed right. He did it on his own. "I take full responsibility," he said.
Judge Denise Lind presides over his pre-trial hearings. His "naked plea" waved his Sixth Amendment and Rule of Court Martial (RCM) 707 rights, she said. They include speedy trial protections.
His plea involved no government agreement. Prosecutors don't have to prove his admissions. They can use them to pursue greater charges.
Manning read his entire 35-page statement. Judge Lind calls his motives irrelevant. Doing so denies him whistleblower protections. Obama's war on them strips them of all rights.
Manning pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of one classified army intelligence memo, more than 20 classified CIDNE (Combined Information Data Network Exchange) Iraq documents, another 30 CIDNE Afghanistan ones, more than five relating to an Afghanistan Farah province military operation, and the Collateral Murder video.
He also pleaded guilty to willfully communicating to unauthorized personnel.
On February 23, international protests marked his 1,000th day in prison without trial. Constitutional and Court Martial rights demand speedy ones.
Defense counsel David Combs represents Manning. He said his "statutory and constitutional speedy trial rights were trampled on with impunity."
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