WikiLeaks: court-martial recommended for Manning

WASHINGTON - An Army officer recommended a general court-martial for a low-ranking intelligence analyst charged with causing the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history.

Lt. Col. Paul Almanza’s recommendation on Thursday to try Pfc. Bradley Manning on all 22 counts, including aiding the enemy, now goes up the chain of command for a final determination. Lt. Col. Almanza sent his report to Col. Carl Coffman, garrison commander of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall near Washington. Col. Coffman will make a recommendation to Military District of Washington commander Maj. Gen. Michael Linnington, whose decision is final.

The military did not provide a timeline for those actions.

The 24-year-old Manning allegedly gave more than 700,000 secret U.S. documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks for publication. Prosecutors say WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange collaborated with Mr. Manning.

Mr. Manning could be imprisoned for life if convicted of the aiding the enemy, the most serious charge. The charge carries a maximum penalty of death, but Lt. Col. Almanza agreed with prosecutors, who recommended against seeking the death penalty. Ultimately, however, that decision lies with Maj. Gen. Linnington.

Lt. Col. Almanza presided over Manning’s seven-day preliminary hearing, called an Article 32 investigation, in December at Fort Meade, Maryland. During that hearing, military prosecutors produced evidence that Mr. Manning downloaded and electronically transferred to WikiLeaks nearly half a million sensitive battlefield reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables, and video of a deadly 2007 Army helicopter attack that WikiLeaks shared with the world and dubbed “Collateral Murder.”