Fort Meade : A military judge on Wednesday rejected a request to dismiss all charges against WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning, paving the way for him to be tried in September over the worst ever breach of US intelligence.
Lawyers for Manning argued that the government had consistently "stashed away" crucial information that could help their client mount his defence and demanded that all 22 counts against the army private be thrown out.
But Colonel Denise Lind told a pre-trial hearing at Fort Meade military base that the court had found "no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct."
Legal analysts had said in advance that a dismissal of all the charges was unlikely.
After failing to get the case thrown out, Manning's civilian counsel, David Coombs, tried to limit his client's legal exposure by arguing for some counts to be discarded because he said prosecutors had imposed multiple charges for single criminal violations.
As both sides manoeuvre in advance of the trial, prosecutors and defence lawyers have argued at length over whether the government has met its obligation to share pertinent information with Manning's legal team.
The defence team won a skirmish against government lawyers on Tuesday with the judge ordering prosecutors to provide her by May 18 with reports by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies looking at the damage caused by the publishing of reams of classified data by WikiLeaks.
The judge also ordered prosecutors to scan hard drives from the unit where Manning worked in Iraq to search for specific software.
Prosecutors allege Manning betrayed the trust of the US government and helped Al-Qaeda by divulging classified intelligence online.
Manning's lawyers are seeking to have the most serious charge of "aiding the enemy" dismissed as they say the government has no evidence to show their client intended to help Al-Qaeda.
If convicted of the charge, known as article 104 under the military code, Manning -who has yet to enter a plea in the case -faces a possible life sentence.
The Welsh-born US army intelligence officer was transferred a year ago from a military prison at Quantico, Virginia -where he had been imprisoned since July 2010 - to another in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Manning's detention conditions at Quantico, which included solitary confinement and being forced to sleep naked, drew the attention of Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and the British government.
Lawyers for Manning argued that the government had consistently "stashed away" crucial information that could help their client mount his defence and demanded that all 22 counts against the army private be thrown out.
But Colonel Denise Lind told a pre-trial hearing at Fort Meade military base that the court had found "no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct."
Legal analysts had said in advance that a dismissal of all the charges was unlikely.
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After failing to get the case thrown out, Manning's civilian counsel, David Coombs, tried to limit his client's legal exposure by arguing for some counts to be discarded because he said prosecutors had imposed multiple charges for single criminal violations.
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As both sides manoeuvre in advance of the trial, prosecutors and defence lawyers have argued at length over whether the government has met its obligation to share pertinent information with Manning's legal team.
Advertisement
The defence team won a skirmish against government lawyers on Tuesday with the judge ordering prosecutors to provide her by May 18 with reports by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies looking at the damage caused by the publishing of reams of classified data by WikiLeaks.
Advertisement
The judge also ordered prosecutors to scan hard drives from the unit where Manning worked in Iraq to search for specific software.
Advertisement
Prosecutors allege Manning betrayed the trust of the US government and helped Al-Qaeda by divulging classified intelligence online.
Manning's lawyers are seeking to have the most serious charge of "aiding the enemy" dismissed as they say the government has no evidence to show their client intended to help Al-Qaeda.
If convicted of the charge, known as article 104 under the military code, Manning -who has yet to enter a plea in the case -faces a possible life sentence.
The Welsh-born US army intelligence officer was transferred a year ago from a military prison at Quantico, Virginia -where he had been imprisoned since July 2010 - to another in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Manning's detention conditions at Quantico, which included solitary confinement and being forced to sleep naked, drew the attention of Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and the British government.
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