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Colonel Denise Lind, the judge in the case of Pfc. Bradley Manning, expects to reach a verdict at 1:00PM today regarding Manning’s leak of classified information to the secret-sharing site WikiLeaks.
Manning’s trial ended on Friday, July 26, with the most serious charge against him being knowingly aiding and abetting U.S. enemies. If convicted, Manning could face a life sentence in a military prison without the possibility of parole, according to The Guardian .
In the largest leak in U.S. history, Manning released more than 700,000 pages of classified documents and videos to WikiLeaks but although he has admitted to lesser charges, he claims he did not set out to help any enemies. According to CNN , Manning claimed he released the information with the intention of “start[ing] a public debate of the wars.”
This case not only affects Manning and the U.S. military—but also the future of investigative journalism in this country. The Guardian reports that potential sources of information for journalists may be scared off if Manning is found guilty his most serious charge.