Army Pvt. Bradley Manning plans to plead guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him in the hopes of being allowed to speak in open court and expand upon the political motives that moved him to release the largest document dump of U.S. military and State Department materials in U.S. history.
If allowed to make a statement, it would be his first ever public account of why he leaked sensitive information.
In court filings, he said that he provided classified material to WikiLeaks hoping to "spark a domestic debate on the role of our military and foreign policy in general." He admitted to leaking detailed US war logs from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a video showing an American helicopter gunship strike in Baghdad, which WikiLeaks later edited and released, titling it "Collateral Murder."
Prosecutors can choose to reject his guilty plea — which carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years — and pursue the more serious charges, including allegations that the leaks directly benefitted al-Qaeda, a charge that could lead to life imprisonment, according to the Telegraph.
"It's taking responsibility for the release of WikiLeaks but criticizing the way the government has targeted it… [this] is an alternative way to get his [ideals] into the public record,"Nathan Bradley, spokesman for the Bradley Manning Support Group, said. "This is an opportunity for Manning to make the statement that WikiLeaks is a conduit to help the American people."
As The Telegraph reports, despite any statements that Manning may make, they are likely to be ignored as prosecutors have already indicated that are likely to go forward with the trial and press for the more serious charges.
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