Did Wikileaks pay Bradley Manning for information?
Pfc. Bradley Manning allegedly suggested to someone at the Kansas military prison where he is being held that WikiLeaks paid for the hundreds of thousands of leaked documents, according to a legal document filed in the Article 32 proceedings for Manning.
This suggestion of payment for secrets could be a pivotal issue in the Manning case, and down the road in any potential effort by the government to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The heavily censored legal document filed by the defense lawyer for espionage suspect Bradley Manning suggests the admission came up in conversation between Manning and an unidentified person at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
The existence of the document was first reported by Politico.
“He will testify that he explained the purpose of his visit and asked PFC Manning who he was and why he was at the JRCF (Joint Regional Correction Facility),” the document says. The name and details were blacked out out in the document by the Army Criminal Court of Appeals before it was provided to CNN as the result of a Freedom of Information Request.
“PFC Manning allegedly responded with, ‘I sold information to WikiLeaks,’ ” according to the defense document.
“Shortly after this alleged statement, the guards realized that (name blacked out) should not have been in the pre-trial area,” the statement continues.