Bradley Manning 'Broke The Law,' Obama Says (VIDEO)

President Barack Obama said Pfc. Bradley Manning broke the law following a fundraiser in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, Forbes reports.

The suggestion the president made was caught on camera during an impromptu and casual conversation regarding the Army private suspected of giving classified information to WikiLeaks.

While it is difficult to make out all of what the president had to say in a clip of the remarks, he can be heard suggesting there's a difference between the situation with Manning and that of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. (Forbes provides a rough transcript of the comments.) Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the secret information on the conflict, has defended Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The AP notes, "Ellsberg was charged with espionage, but the case was thrown out amid disclosure of extensive government misconduct against Ellsberg."

HuffPost's Jen Bendery reported on Thursday:

Attendees at a high-ticket fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee on Thursday burst into song in the middle of a speech by President Barack Obama, protesting the government's treatment of alleged Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Obama was delivering remarks at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel to a crowd of about 200 donors--some of whom paid $35,800 each to attend--when a woman in a white suit stood up and said, "Mr. President, we wrote you a song," according to White House pool reports.
...
The ten singers passed around signs that said "Free Bradley Manning," and the woman in the white suit took off her jacket to reveal a t-shirt emblazoned with the same message. She was ultimately escorted out of the event, and two others left on their own. The rest stayed and applauded at the end of Obama's speech. The woman can be seen here.

Earlier this week, the AP reported that Manning is being moved from being held at the Marine Corps base at Quantico to a new detention facility at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer, said the move does not suggest that Army Pfc. Bradley Manning's treatment at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va., was inappropriate.

But the transfer, which Johnson described as "imminent", comes in the wake of international criticism about Manning's treatment during his detention at the Marine Corps base at Quantico. And the conditions of Manning's detention have been the focus of repeated protests from human rights groups and lawmakers.
...
A former intelligence analyst, Manning is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, including Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, confidential State Department cables and a classified military video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Iraq that killed a Reuters news photographer and his driver.

Last month, the president signaled he believes the conditions in which Manning is being held are "appropriate and meeting our basic standards."

Comments

[brokerallen]

01:43 AM on 04/27/2011

As an Obama supporter I'm a little concerned about his stance on this issue. We have every right to know what both our elected and appointed Officials are up to. It's the only way we can make informed decisions when it comes time to vote.

[Kalemanao]

02:50 PM on 04/26/2011

WHAT DOESN'T APPLY TO ANY MEMBER OF U.S. MILITARY!

"YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT"

Private Manning has told all... And, no doubt, has willing signed his signature to documents verifying his admission he "broke the law"... Which was reported to the Commander in Chief, who said exactly that. He "broke the law". UCMJ LAW!!! There is no "trial"...

End of story.

[sophiemaki]

03:04 PM on 04/26/2011

wrong. . ck out the connection w/Adrian Lamo.a known hacker.
(he turned Bradley in )
he could have been set up, his computer hacked...Lamo could have exposed files.?!
that is the beauty of "innocence until proven guilty.".

[Kalemanao]

05:50 PM on 04/26/2011

Whatever! Doesn't matter... Private Manning is subject to the judgment and sentencing of a UCMJ Administrative Board. Whatever it may be... Good luck on appealing to a higher court. FYI: I have no personal greivance with Manning. Too bad... No matter the circumstances... Manning is "In The Army NOW"... And, he "broke the law"... And, he is going to prison.

[Eris23]

07:46 AM on 04/27/2011

Back with more misinformation I see. :)

[Angie Cordeiro]

07:09 PM on 04/25/2011

"Undo command influence:: thank you President Obama now we can legally dismiss the case!

[sophiemaki]

01:24 PM on 04/26/2011

i wish Bradley had a new attorney. lt david e coombs ......
(something does not seem right)
Jack Rice (xCIA, host of Air America, Defense Attorney) would happily take his case.
i would feel so much better.

[chino66]

05:41 AM on 04/27/2011

I think you meant "undue" command influence.

[Angie Cordeiro]

02:09 PM on 04/27/2011

Thank you so much...f&f...and to make good on this whole sick situation the Commander in Chief can open up a secure internet sight where service men and women may post a complaint or discrepancy that is not sufficiently addressed or explained....we need whistle blowers, these acts keep us honest.

[ALiberalKidd]

11:10 AM on 04/25/2011

Mr. President, I missed the part in your swearing-in, where you are supposed to cover up lies by the US Military, CIA, FBI, etc...,or mislead-- we the people.

President Obama, you said on air that Mr. Manning broke the law; I did not know that he has been found guilty of breaking the law.

[WILL RICHARDSON]

02:04 PM on 05/02/2011

He released classified information. That is illegal. He did know that has a intell analysis.

[RTIII]

02:18 PM on 05/13/2011

Without a conviction, he is not, officially, "guilty," merely charged, and if the two were eqivalent, then we'd be missing out on all the juris prudence since the Magna Carta.

[KarlaElisa]

10:47 AM on 04/25/2011

Funny. 'The Law' apparently only applies to us serfs and those who would expose the evils of our Government.

I say Obama broke the law when he scuttled the Bush War Crimes investigations and not only continued the wars/occupations but amped up and expanded this war on terror.

[Libertarian09]

10:50 AM on 04/25/2011

Kind of like how International law is something for other nations but not applicable to the US... or Israel

[KarlaElisa]

11:47 AM on 04/25/2011

Precisely like that, David. The USG and Israel do 'internal' investigations that tend to clear everybody, every time. Big surprise there.

[FDRbyGodDemocrat]

10:00 AM on 04/25/2011

Might be nice to wait for the trial to pronounce him guilty. Those old enough might remember another pre-trial headline "Manson Guilty, Nixon Says."

[SKinSK]

05:46 AM on 04/25/2011

While I still think Obama is better than what we had, this is another disappointment. How can Manning get a fair trial if the president is publicly suggesting he is guilty? My heart is breaking for my country, as the values we held so dearly, and out very constitutional rights are being taken away, held hostage, and mocked by those who hold power and the men who buy them. Anyone who sees wrongdoing in out military, state department, regulatory agencies etc is going to think twice before blowing the whistle, and I fear many whistles will not be blown.

[FCBarca]

05:14 AM on 04/25/2011

No evidence, no charges, no trial & no humanity for 'one of our own'...Tyranny

[William J Unverferth Sr]

10:27 AM on 04/25/2011

No evidence that you have seen, he has been charged with 24 counts and is as human as he wants to be.

[turbulence]

10:40 AM on 04/25/2011

Oh....you mean that we can decide a person to be guilty as long as he/she is accused? Then why do we need a trial? No wander the brig commanders could say "we do whatever we want to do".

[brux]

04:26 AM on 04/25/2011

Obama does not think he is authorized to tell secrets to the American people? Can you imagine that, what a putz President.

[Lordcron]

03:17 AM on 04/25/2011

I don't care what side anyone stands on. You really can't expect the main man in charge of laws and regulations AKA The President to go against what laws are on the books. Even if the laws don't make sense it's the law and he's sworn to uphold them.

[brux]

04:27 AM on 04/25/2011

If the law does not make sense what good is it. We seem to have forgotten the basic tenet of our Constitution it is up to us to break laws if they are wrong .

[PhillyKing]

09:56 AM on 04/25/2011

innocent until proven guilty... not the other way around... if there's no trial, no charges etc, how can we be holding one of our own like that??? first they gave up on Guantanamo now they issue the same treatment to an officer and citizen.

[cdiasmd]

02:02 PM on 04/25/2011

1. Private First Class (E-3)...not even an Non-Commissioned Officer (E-5)
2. 34 Charges 12 in July 2010 and an additional 22 in Mar 2011.
3. Not a citizen but a soldier...subject to laws and regulations of DoD as prescribed by Congress under USC Article I, Section 8 The Congress shall have Power . . . To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval forces." His rights are under the UCMJ.

[METALSHOEBOY66]

07:14 PM on 04/24/2011

Obama the great Liar , This war created in the name of Oil , for blood . is the reason so many American Soldiers are committing suicide , What Bradley Manning did as a Soldier is defend our nation against American Corporate terrorism , against humanity . that is the SANE thing to do , to keep from going insane .

[EricBishop]

06:43 PM on 04/24/2011

Manning should be executed. The helicopter video was a legit whistle blower item, but the rest was treason.

[rlclark65]

11:26 PM on 04/24/2011

Even the helicopter video should not have been released. Unfortunately in war freindly fire happens. It is horrible but it happens.

Just the fact that he released 100,000 documents shows that true whistle blowing wasn't his thing. No way he reviewed 100,000 documents.

US citizens will likely die over something he released.

[Acert]

12:26 AM on 04/25/2011

Yes, our people will die because the world knows diplomatic secrets about Anna Nicole Smith.

[KarlaElisa]

10:49 AM on 04/25/2011

US citizens are in more danger now thanks to the war crimes committed by both Bush and Obama in their war on terror. You're focusing on the wrong criminals. People HAVE died thanks to the actions/decisions of those 2.

[brux]

04:27 AM on 04/25/2011

you don't know what you are saying.

[EricBishop]

10:55 PM on 04/25/2011

Well argued. Thoughtful. Thorough. You need to start writing for The Economist.

[momamazed]

01:45 PM on 04/24/2011

Why is it that people who risk their lives in service to this country have less rights than civilians? How does that make any sense?

[EricBishop]

06:42 PM on 04/24/2011

The standards of behavior for "people who risk their lives in service to this country" are much higher than the drooling hoards that happened to be born here.

[SOTM]

01:18 PM on 04/24/2011

The presumption of innocence does apply under UCMJ. So when the Commander-in-Chief declares Manning broke the law (before he has been tried), you can only wonder how far the prosecutors (who are subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief) will go to satisfy his wishes. It is also interesting to note the rational used to justify his suspected treatment.

[phildouglas]

09:48 PM on 04/24/2011

You are wrong about the presumption of innocence not applying under the UCMJ. Manning will have the benefit of the presumption. The Military Judge will tell the Members (the military jury) that many times throughout the course of his trial. Having practiced in military courts for almost 32 years now I think I can attest to that.

[turbulence]

11:04 AM on 04/25/2011

SOTM is correct. Amendment V and VI apply to solders. Weiss v. United States (92-1482), 510 U.S. 163 (1994) states solders are under the protection of constitution. Though the cases were not favor to the petitioners, supreme court explained why the constitution was not violated in their cases.

I guess no one turned those words to supreme court, otherwise I doubt the military judges can keep on saying that.

[cdiasmd]

02:12 PM on 04/25/2011

Look up a summary court-martial and then explain how you get a presumptio­n of innocence if one person is the Judge, Prosecution & Defense.

Manning will have a Military Judge only Court-Martial. If Manning's attorney is an idiot then this will be a General Court Martial w/ a jury.

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

01:02 PM on 04/24/2011

Mr. President, you are the Commander In Chief of the armed forces of the United States, not some private citizen voicing his opinion. Your contention that Mr. Manning is quilty has so prejudiced the outcome of his trial before a military court that there is no way he can recieve a fair trial. And if it can be shown that you ordered Mr. Manning's rights to be violated, or if you knew that they were being violated and did nothing to stop it, then you sir, should be impeached.

[brux]

04:29 AM on 04/25/2011

Obama is guilty and he does not want to the American people to catch on.

[William J Unverferth Sr]

10:33 AM on 04/25/2011

The President is the head of the Executive branch in charge of enforcing our laws. As such when they arrest and bring to trial a presumed felon and prosecute him they are saying he is guilty. IT is not the Executive's place though to adjudicate guilt nor to proscribe a punishment. That is the pervue of the courts under the guidance of the laws drawn up by the Legislative Branch. So by the fact that there are getting ready for trial and manning's been arrested we all KNOW that the EB thinks Manning has broken the law. Those who think this statement is news really just don't understand this country.

[turbulence]

11:18 AM on 04/25/2011

There are a big difference between " we think he is guilty" and " he is guilty". The former is a believe and the latter is a judicial fact.

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

11:50 AM on 04/25/2011

The laws of this country are founded on the principle that everyone accused of a crime is innocent until proven quilty in a court of law. For the President to come out and say that Mr. Manning is quilty, before a trial has taken place - and that trial before a military court of which the President is Commander in Chief, is to so taint the case that Mr. Manning's ability to receive a fair trial has been compromised. And if Mr. Manning was mistreated and denied his rights while in detention, by the order of the President; or if the President knew that Mr. Manning was being mistreated while in detention and he did not use his power as Commander in Chief to put an end to that mistreatment, then he should be impeached and removed from office.