breaking news at ten pm from moscow the whistleblower bradley manning is found not guilty of aiding the enemy in lifting the lid on american military wrongdoings but still faces over one hundred years in jail on a host of other charges. hello good evening it's kevin irwin here in r t h q tonight one big story dominating our coverage of the verdict in the trial of the twenty five year old u.s. army private responsible for the largest leak of classified documents in american history bradley manning has escaped conviction on the most serious charge against him of aiding the enemy which is punishable by life imprisonment but he still faces

lengthy jail time on charges including espionage and theft as get the latest now from artie's going to teach a county washington d.c. how they go any bring us up to speed than if you were wrapping up what we've heard in the last sixty minutes. that's right kevin many was convicted of multiple violations but he was found not guilty of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy not clear whether the judge did it because prosecutors have failed to prove what concrete harm was done through the information that manning has leaked or because the judge took into account bradley manning's initial intentions whatever the judge's reasoning it's an important precedent for these types of cases the espionage act was never intended to punish whistleblowers it's a nine hundred seventeen statute for spies but the obama administration has already charged eight whistleblowers with espionage but again although manning was found

not guilty of aiding the enemy his still found guilty on five counts of violating the espionage act in total he's found guilty on nineteen counts which can still lead to him in prison for the rest of his life will see what the judge decides the judge can announce the sentence within days or weeks of it could be tomorrow could be several weeks whatever the sentence amending it is of course entitled to an appeal and will probably see a lengthy appeals process following the sentence of course we don't want to underestimate the fact that the judge has cleared manning of the enemy charge it means a great deal i mean especially for journalists because that kind of a verdict would have served a huge blow to investigative journalism and i mean we know we investigative journalism specially those covering national security have been saying that their sources of dried up and and b. also it could potentially the government could target journalist as as accomplices of

a crime the crime of seeking classified information and releasing it so it means a great deal for journalists but also. for of for bradley manning supporters who i mean we've seen protests in support of bradley manning throughout the country and their support is not so much for manning as an individual that too of course but. more importantly for the public's right to know and for many supporters it's always been a big question as to who aided the enemy they are given as being that the u.s. government has aided the enemy much more than bradley manning because they argue that the government's killing of civilians in all these different countries has generated more enemies for the u.s. than manning's revelations half well that of course a rhetorical argument that had no place in court gone over the last hour you've been following for us so that how much media coverage you've been able to see the over in the states but you know we know this guy really held as a hero by all those what's the initial reaction been like.

oh well kevin of course he he has been i mean he's been found guilty before before a trial both by the compliment and by much of the media. and the pulse polls show that the majority of americans do think that bradley manning is is a traitor although he has a huge base of support of course but it's very interesting that the majority of americans. think of edward snowden as a whistle blower although he too has released classified information so this could be i don't know traced back to to the subject of their revelations one could argue that manning what manning has released was about the u.s. government's wrongdoings abroad to and snowden's revelations have to do about americans' rights about american civil liberties i mean. and of course the big difference here is this guy was wearing the rest of the world as well but americans

arguably cared more about snowden then about bradley manning and the big difference is well this guy was wearing a uniform and service uniform i wonder if it's going to mean we're going to write more or less people in the services coming forward in future as whistleblowers now . well it certainly didn't scare edward snowden i mean he was he was in jail and he was not treated well and it's been widely reported because during these three years the three years that bradley manning has already spent in jail they included you know long stretches of solitary confinement sleep deprivation and forced nudity all this has been out there the treatment that he received and it was even condemned them criticized by the un special rapporteur on torture so it's all been out there but it did not stop. edward snowden from doing what he did we can argue that it may not stop others from doing it in the future if i'm doing what they think what they see as the right thing to do for the record

strictly speaking edward snowden wasn't depending how you look at he wasn't actually wearing a uniform it wasn't a serviceman that signed up for it but you know i get your point there absolutely if you can thanks for that for now all right well we're hoping to talk to kristin have some very short he's a wiki leaks spokesman not quite sure if he's on the line yet or not so waiting to be told the new circuit. comes of let me just sum up the verdict for you bradley manning been found not guilty of the most serious charge against him in the last sixty minutes of aiding the enemy that would have been punishable by life imprisonment manning still the faces over one hundred years in prison on nineteen counts as we've been saying the judge spent not very long at all five minutes reading the charges he's been convicted among other things we do know of five counts of espionage as well as theft and computer fraud is sentencing as garnett was saying there is due to begin wednesday morning we don't know how long that will be go on very much across the course with our correspondents there to remind you

the background of bradley manning a twenty five year old from oklahoma home who enlisted in the u.s. army back in two thousand and seven two years later that he was deployed in iraq where he encountered that video footage showing u.s. forces killing unarmed civilians apparently mistaking them for insurgents journalists and children were among those victims that was the big if you remember the video labeled collateral murder by the wiki leaks website which published it after receiving it then from manning the army private manning was arrested in may twenty twenty to twenty ten as his timeline goes on and saddled with those twenty one charges relating to espionage computer fraud theft and aiding the enemy and it's that latest that carried the life sentence but we know he doesn't have that now while he's been in confinement at a maximum security prison the publications have continued to be a real. least exposing multiple wrongdoings by american troops in afghanistan and iraq the u.n. torture report said that manning was subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment

during his detention that's the background while a lot of talk about how this is going to affect wiki leaks let's talk to wiki leaks spokesman kristen have for us and i gather now he's on the line hi there kristen i can hear it you live on r.t. thanks be with us and i've been watching this very closely in the last sixty minutes big implications potentially for you your initial thoughts as far as wiki leaks goes. well of course i'm pleased that the judge decided to throw out the more serious charges will be aiding the enemy was of course was a ludicrous to start with and it would have meant basically the year that the problem journalism was was treason. however and we have no. twenty charges that he is found guilty of and which i believe could mean up to one hundred years imprisonment so he is obviously facing a long time in prison especially when you think about how this trial has been carried out by judge lindh one is not filled with any optimism only last week.

to allow the prosecution to change some of the charges on the last day of the trial . the trial has been partly closed off to journalists to journalists have been intimidated so when there is no big room for optimism he's facing a heck of a long time in prison potentially looking back now with hindsight what feasible tangible good did he bring now endeavor being brought to book for instance for some of things he's exposed to. the things that he has exposed to being the source of this information that he has admitted to. have led to profound social and political changes in the middle east in part if one listen to the voices from the tunisia he is he is partly responsible for contributing in a catalytic way to the arab spring with his. amazing. he has given

as an in-depth insight into the horrors of the iraq and the gun wars inside an information that was concealed and hidden from the general public the fact that the allied forces were turning over detainees to the al maliki government where they were tortured and the knew perfectly well about that for a. example the number of those killed in the wars that were on the ticket loosely guarded by u.s. forces but officially denied that they were gathering this information so we have learned a lot from these revelations and he is one of the most important whistle blower in history i guess the critics would say then following on from what you have been saying ok it's raise public awareness but has anything changed. things have changed we have seen now a new era beginning and an expansion of the limits of journalism an era that began

in earnest of course prior to two thousand and ten but with the weeklies revolution in two thousand and ten the world saw a new opportunity and a chance for information getting out bypassing the mainstream media who often act as lapdogs of the year administrations instead of being the watchdogs they should be we've seen this trend continuing and now we have snowden step in for. informing us about the most grave attack on privacy in the world in history far surprise surprising what starseed did in east germany and back in the cold war days do you think this is a continuation it's a new reality with the new technology and the new media online and it should be a thing that we can look to with optimism and and hopefully see change in the future chris anything you can see the changes already do you think anybody any potential future whistleblowers in the services around the world tonight already

clear about how far they can push this when they're breaching secrets how far they can push it what they can get away with if you like is the picture any clearer for them. the picture or at least clearer that they will not. phase life imprisonment or death sentence for ridiculous charges for aiding the enemy if they are revealing issues and information showing war crimes we have seen that despite the way that bradley manning was treated. being tortured in prison in isolation in solitary confinement for almost a year it has not stopped whistleblowers and there are still brave people out there who act on their conscience. and with the public interest in mind and have blown the whistle that is not going to stop or i question thanks for much please don't think isn't it so much christian it is explain an odd thing. let's not get the

latest from a tease andrew blake he's outside full made for some date with the verdict was handed out just over an hour ago on drew on the phone i can see that what kind of reaction are you seeing made obviously out of media that you weren't allowed to report on the side of the from within the courtroom but what are you seeing around you then now you know i have to tell you as long as there were. actually able to report from anywhere on the base it was actually disaster this afternoon when the verdict was read there was no internet in the media center shut off and we were told to come back on afterwards it did not so we had around a few dozen journalists scrambling to try to find a way to connect to the internet many. just for one saga has become a trial often to pretty much entirely secrecy it's been over over twenty charges over twenty counts for three years by the treaty confinement and the government has

refused to release most of the documentation and the fact that the media couldn't actually report on this very important day today is a travesty but that being said most journalists ones in the charge she was finally read. least that we have come this far and we know that manning is not guilty of aiding the enemy on one thing that many supporters that have always said if you talk to the enemy. i spoke to a couple people who were such and how do the public perceive it any differently tonight is a hero or a criminal. i spoke with a bunch of people shortly before the verdict as we wanted out here today more than seventy spectators either in the quarter in the overflow room believe this man is a hero or look like you know the people who don't are the united states military. taking information exposing war crimes can still get you charged with espionage on the show leading the enemy but as computer fraud just an awful lot and i talk to

some people who just regular civilian spectators who wanted to come see pride and manicure day and we know that it's kind of what they said even here's a guy forty five years old is being charged with these ridiculous to the just crimes and the interest and for essentially using a computer and trying to tell the truth most people here with us believe and. you know we were in and out in three minutes the verdict but delivered very quickly court is now in recess until tomorrow and at this point where we have to wait to see what's going to happen but the man does still face upwards of one hundred thirty years in prison how how was manning could you describe how he took that verdict could you just describe what he looked like. he just spoke to someone who was sitting a few feet behind him in the courtroom and she told me that when they read the not guilty verdict you're getting the enemy a mile across his face and we look at each other and we both kind of smiled and that was being fired serious i heard from her i heard that there were no outbursts

in the trial and however that the military police here were prepared for around worrying that the might be some sort of a riot or outburst you know we already had to remove one journalist earlier this week from the court and the charge is really really trying to change things up around here but it seems that most people are just relieved in knowing that they always try to manage not to give any enemy but the whole sand think phase is really going to be a whole other can of worms that we're going to have to deal with next to the sons of like on the phone there from fort meade thank you very much appreciated more on the money case right off the break up and stay with us.

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up to date with the main story this bradley manning has been found not guilty of the most serious charge against him of aiding the enemy which would be punishable by life imprisonment however matic still faces over one hundred years in prison or nineteen counts the judge spent five minutes reading the charges just over an hour ago he's been convicted among other things of five counts of espionage as well as theft and computer fraud his sentencing is set to begin a wednesday morning with of course bring you the latest from the court to bring you the latest reaction as well tovia which the let's taught dave caught up. he's the general counsel to the national whistleblower sent to hide i think speak where this money has been convicted of all but to charges how much jail time that's the crucial question now isn't it do you think he is going to end up with at the end of the day if this is going to appeal or not when it finally happens what you think it's going to be well that's that's very hard to predict and that is the question

the judge has tremendous amount of discretion and sentencing and as you've noted. over one hundred years of prison time is the maximum that the judge could impose so it's still a significant amount of time he could be facing decades in prison even if the maximum is not given so it's still it's a very troublesome prosecution and the result is uncertain we'll find out i'm sure tomorrow what the result will be but we believe that this case should have ended long ago when mr manning pled guilty to the lesser offenses the government's prosecution of him has been way over the top and frankly so has their crackdown on whistleblowers in the united states resulting from this case we all from the national whistleblower assented to think off to today's visit you to see more or less people coming through with information. well i i do

disagree with the comments of your earlier guest from wiki leaks there has been a chilling effect in the united states on whistleblowers and as a result of the government's overreaction to this case and that has been throughout the federal government not just in the intelligence community but all government agencies have been faced with a crackdown on whistleblowers because the obama administration sent out a warning to all agencies to be on the lookout for leakers and to identify the leakers before they happen in response to the manning case that meant anyone who files a grievance or files a whistle a legitimate wall full whistleblower complaint immediately is placed on the list of suspects when there is a leak and tremendous chilling effect after all of this dave you know all we any

clearer if you are a whistleblower potentially in any of the services around the world but particularly in america are you any clearer about what you could whistleblower what you couldn't we get itself in dog trouble it's no clear is it. it is not and that's a troubling result because of the failure of u.s. policy there over reaction to the bradley manning case has been just to clamp down on all types of whistle blowing and that that's unfortunate there have been some advance moments in the law in the non national security or intelligence area but that's being drug war by the overreaction to this and also there's been an attack on the media. are you surprised at the outcome told here it was as any of it come to surprise you think you would have got off with mole. well i think it's a little bit of a it's somewhat of a relief that the major charge was found not guilty of aiding the enemy but it's

still disturbing that five counts of conviction on violations of the espionage act is disturbing to brand a someone who was motivated by whistle blowing as a spy which we've seen in other cases this is not just the only case which makes it a very difficult way to move forward i guess we'll find out tomorrow how this judge will factor in a first amendment balance with the public's right to know this type of information when we come to the sentencing phase or if the judge will disregard that altogether because it really is the public's right to know it's hanging in the balance on the facts of course that he's been held in custody for so long without be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstance or not do you think. it certainly should be and in fact. in my opinion the entire his his time should be drastically reduced and if the

judge had the guts would a sentence sent to time served. i know you listen to the crystal have sle interview the wiki leaks guy just a couple of minutes ago for the same question to you looking at it now with hindsight was bradley manning's mission a success. well in terms of release and disclosure of information yes he released to the world information that was important that we would not have for further overlearned of otherwise and i think it was clear when he stated what his intention was to start or spark a debate on foreign policy i think it went way beyond that in terms of the if that was his goal he more than succeeded at that and i think the public has been well informed by abuses in government and in the military and there have been changes

throughout the world as a result of his disclosures for the better there's been a democracy movement in the middle east. and so it you know from that point of view it has been a success having to face over one hundred years in prison however is something that also has to be taken into consideration time will tell whether or not he will himself view it as a success depending on the sentence that color prints from the national whistleblower center thank you for your time. thank you i have a mounting than a twenty five year old from oklahoma enlisted in the u.s. army back in two thousand and seven let's give you some background two years later he was deployed in iraq where he encountered video footage showing u.s. forces killing unarmed civilians apparently mistaking them for insurgents journalists and children among those killed them that video was labeled collateral murder by the wiki leaks website that published it after receiving it from manning

the army private was arrested may twenty ten and then saddled with twenty one charges relating to espionage computer fraud theft and aiding the enemy in its last charge that would have carried a life sentence but it has been overturned today while he's put in confinement in a maximum security prison the publication shave continued to be released exposing multiple wrongdoings by american troops in afghanistan and iraq the u.n. torture report said that manning has been subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment during his detention. gavin mcfayden is the director of the london based center for investigative journalism a close friend of wiki leaks editor julian sands he stresses that man exactions were not driven by any personal gain. he thought that the crimes committed by the army should be made public and what they're admitting to was the fact that he broke the law in getting those documents and selling them out to wiki leaks the justice of what he did is another matter and i think in that most people are agreed except

those who regarded what america is a traitor most people would agree that indeed he did it as an act of conscience certainly beat attempted to publish these documents in the new york times the washington post and other sources but none of them would do it until they were a wiki leaks that then they all took up the case but this is a very strong case that nobody would gain from this certainly not bradley manning who was affected abused very badly very confined so badly abused and cracked their senior state department official resigned in protest the fact that the court will accept it as as evidence of cruel and unusual treatment is to me quite astonishing . so bradley manning them found guilty just to just to wrap up not guilty of the most serious charge against him of aiding the enemy which would be punishable by life imprisonment but an army spokesman has told the media that the whistleblower does face a maximum sentence of one hundred thirty six years he's been convicted among other

things of five counts of espionage as well as theft and computer fraud the judge spent five minutes reading those charges manning sentencing will begin wednesday morning and we'll be bringing you the latest from the count of final word let's go back to andrew blake who's in maryland andrew sum up your live on our yeah there we go hi there if you can hear me just sum up if you could the events of the last two hours or so for us. you know honestly we were in and out in a matter of moments and you know after months and years of waiting for this it was kind of a relief in the media center here in fort meade maryland there is around sixty seventy journalists just sitting there waiting hunched over their laptops waiting anxiously for the moment in the courtroom itself it was packed with thirty spectators and a handful of journalists there's actually so many people came in from as far away as boston new york city you know people drove all night hundreds of miles to get here they actually packed an overflow room in order just to sit there and watch private manning here his feet from colonel denise land and really private manning

will still face one hundred thirty six years in prison but now that he's avoided conviction under the charge of aiding the enemy it was really just a sigh of relief for most people it's it's not the best news that you would expect if you were a supporter of manning but it was still very significant in the fact that we no longer can say that this is a person who has been accused of aiding the enemy and the government agrees with that it the government no longer agrees with that thank you. if you could stay with the. next she's along with a major break in the set might often break. you live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month for food i should try it because you know how fabulous i had lunch i got so many i mean. i know that i'm sitting really really messed up. in there all really so personally. it's. the worst you're going to go lie

down to the. radio guy for minestrone probably. close for about a good cause you've never seen anything like this i'm told. ok i'm having martin in the break in a set today is the first day of d.c.'s annual whistleblower summoned this morning i was able to sit on a panel with some other journalists to talk about the obama administration's crackdown on whistleblowers it's quite unfortunate that we're seeing this kind of attack on the press happened under obama considering how one of the foundations of his presidential platform was the urgency to protect whistleblowers in fact for the last five years obama's website changed our gov has maintained a pledge to protect them by stressing the importance of encouraging people within government agencies to expose wrongdoing.