Damage Assessment: State Dept Officials to Testify in WikiLeaker’s Trial
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Alex Wong/Getty Images(FORT MEADE, Md.) — Three State Department officials will testify in court Thursday as part of the defense motion for discovery of damage assessments in alleged WikiLeaker PFC Bradley Manning’s trial.
The defense has made it pretty clear that the actual damage done from Manning’s alleged release of hundreds of thousands of classified military reports, state department cables and video clips to the Wikileaks website in 2010 has been minimal, and a platform for their defense.
Their discovery motion requests damage assessments from more than 40 government agencies, including the State Department.
On Wednesday, arguments for the discovery request were heard in the Fort Meade, Md., courtroom, as well as the judge ordering the government to hand over anything it sees that could benefit the preparation of the defense.
The defense is also seeking to dismiss 10 of the 22 specifications against Manning. Eight focus on transmitting classified or sensitive information to unauthorized persons and two relate to allegations of Manning exceeding authorized access.
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