Today, Freedom of the Press Foundation is publishing the full,
previously unreleased audio recording of Private First Class Bradley
Manning’s speech to the military court in Ft. Meade about his
motivations for leaking over 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks.
In addition, we have published highlights from Manning’s statement to
the court. While unofficial transcripts of this statement are available, this
marks the first time the American public has heard the actual voice of
Manning.
[There should be a direct link to the - more moving than Pickford's - audio embedded here. If it doesn't work for you click here].
He explains to the military court in his own cadence and words how
and why he gave the Apache helicopter video, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars
Logs, and the State Department Diplomatic Cables to WikiLeaks. Manning
explains his motives, noting how he believed the documents showed deep
wrongdoing by the government and how he hoped that the release would
"spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign
policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan." In conjunction
with the statement, Private First Class Manning also pleaded guilty to
10 of the 22 charges against him.
Freedom of the Press Foundation is dedicated to supporting journalism
that combats overreaching government secrecy. We have been disturbed
that Manning’s pre-trial hearings have been hampered by the kind of
extreme government secrecy that his releases to WikiLeaks were intended
to protest. While reporters are allowed in the courtroom, no audio or
visual recordings are permitted by the judge, no transcripts of the
proceedings or any motions by the prosecution have been released, and
lengthy court orders read on the stand by the judge have not been
published for public review...
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