A verdict in the court-martial of former intelligence analyst Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, who admitted to leaking 700,000 pages of documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, is expected at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday. Manning is charged on 21 counts and has pled guilty to lesser versions of 10 of those charges. He denies the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, under the 1917 Espionage Act. If found guilty of that charge, Manning could receive a life sentence without chance of parole.
Late 2009/early 2010
- Manning arrives in Baghdad, begins accessing and downloading classified diplomatic documents and communicating with WikiLeaks.
2010
- February: Manning gives WikiLeaks video footage of a 2007 helicopter attack on Iraqi insurgents, according to the Washington Post. The footage shows civilians and two employees of Reuters news service being gunned down.
- April: WikiLeaks releases footage of a helicopter attack under the title “Collateral Murder.”
- May 21: First AIM chats between Manning and ex-hacker Adrian Lamo, in which Manning ultimately confesses having sent the documents to WikiLeaks. Lamo contacts authorities.
- May 29: Manning is arrested in Baghdad.
- June: Manning detained at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where he is placed in an eight-by-eight-foot cage for more than a month, according to Wired magazine.
- June 6: U.S. files initial charges against Manning.
- July 25: WiliLeaks releases “Afghan War Diary,” thousands of documents on the war from 2004-2010.
- July 29: Manning transferred to the United States and incarcerated at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va., and held in solitary confinement for nine months.
2011
- March: Manning’s charges updated to 22 violations, including “aiding the enemy.”
- April: Manning transferred to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, where he is no longer held in solitary confinement.
- December: Military investigator begins six-day Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing, to determine if Manning’s case will go to trial. Manning’s lawyer asks Judge Col. Denise Lind to drop the charges due to the inhumane treatment of Manning at Quantico.
2012
- Jan. 8, 2012: Judge in Manning case refuses to drop charges.
- Feb. 3: Military investigator determines that Manning will stand trial, followed by months of pretrial hearings.
- March: UN special rapporteur releases report accusing U.S. government of inhumane treatment of Manning.
2013
- June 3, 2013: Manning’s eight-week trial begins in Fort Meade, Md.
- July 25: Closing arguments delivered in Manning’s trial.
- July 29: Announcement that Judge Lind will hand down the verdict in Manning’s case the next day, according to a spokeswoman for the military district of Washington.
