Army transfers accused intel specialist to MDW

By MDW Public AffairsJuly 30, 2010

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 30, 2010) - The Soldier suspected of leaking classified information to the website "WikiLeaks" arrived last night at a pre-trial confinement facility on Quantico Marine Base, Va., as part of the transfer of court-martial jurisdiction in his case to the U. S. Army Military District of Washington.

Pfc. Bradley E. Manning had been confined at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, since May 29 after being suspected of providing WikiLeaks classified video showing a July 2007 Apache helicopter strike in Baghdad. He is now also suspected of being involved in leaking thousands of intelligence reports about the conflict in Afghanistan.

Manning was charged on July 5 with four specifications under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for violating Army Regulation 25-2 (Information Assurance Policy), and eight specifications under Article 134 for violating federal statutes related to the receipt of classified information (18 U.S.C. 793) and wrongful access of a government computer (18 U.S.C. 1030).

With his transfer to Quantico, Manning is now under the general court-martial convening authority of Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst, MDW commanding general. Manning will remain in pre-trial confinement as the Army continues its investigation, officials said.

Maj. Gen. Terry Wolff, the general court-martial convening authority and commanding general of the 1st Armored Division/U.S. Division - Center in Iraq, requested the transfer to MDW due to a potentially lengthy pre-trial confinement because of the complexity of charges and an ongoing investigation. The field confinement facility in Kuwait is designed for short-term confinement.

The criminal investigation remains open, officials said. They explained that preferral of charges represents an accusation only and that Manning is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Manning, of Potomac, Md., entered the Army in October 2007 as an intelligence analyst (Military Occupational Specialty 35F). He was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. That unit deployed to Iraq in October and is now in the process of returning back to Fort Drum, N.Y.