“The unit has in fact documented a history, if you will, from as early as December of 2009 to May of 2010 of behavior that they were concerned about,” Coombs said, adding that Manning’s immediate supervisor “did document prolonged periods of disassociated behavior, quite a bit of nonresponsiveness from Pfc. Manning. And, again, that progressed from the very beginning of the deployment and deteriorated somewhat toward the end.”

The Army declined to comment. “This case does have worldwide visibility and [Manning’s] civilian attorney will do the best he can to defend him and that may bring up other issues other than what is currently known,” said Lt. Col. Robert Owen spokesman for the Army at the U.S. embassy in Iraq. “But the U.S. Army is not going to react to every statement that Manning’s civilian attorney makes.”

Manning, who is being held in solitary confinement at the Navy brig at Quantico, Virginia, has invoked the Fifth Amendment and is refusing to cooperate with investigators. He’s taking medication for depression and insomnia. Coombs told CNN, however, that his client is aware of the public support for him.

“Obviously, being in solitary confinement is very difficult,” Coombs said. “But the individuals at the confinement facility are very professional. They’re doing a very good job. And he’s aware of all the people who are rallying to his support. So his spirits are relatively good. In addition, he is being treated now by a forensic psychiatrist. And he is responding positively to that treatment.”

Manning is due to be examined by a panel of three mental-health experts to determine what problems he’s suffering now and may have been suffering at the time of the alleged leaks.

Coombs also said that he has currently seen nothing that indicates “there’s any evidence” tying his client to the leaks. It was unclear in the interview, however, whether he’s yet received discovery material in the case.  Coombs did not respond to requests for comment from Threat Level.

Manning, 22, shows in chats he conducted with former hacker Adrian Lamo, who turned him in, that he was deeply troubled and conflicted. He was socially isolated and estranged from family members and described a number of personal issues that were affecting his emotional stability. He also described a growing cynicism about U.S. foreign policy that motivated his alleged leaks to WikiLeaks.

Shortly after the alleged leaks occurred, Manning was demoted after punching a fellow soldier in the face. Manning told Lamo that as a result of the incident he was “forced” to visit behavioral health personnel for an evaluation.

He’d also been admonished in the past for referencing classified facilities in personal videos he posted to YouTube.

Manning was arrested in May after telling Lamo that he was responsible for leaking a classified 2007 video showing an Army Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad, which WikiLeaks published last April. Manning also claimed to have leaked an Army log of half a million military events in Iraq, a separate video of a military attack in Afghanistan in 2009, and 260,000 U.S. State Department diplomatic cables.

Manning was charged last month with leaking the Iraq video, and improperly downloading more than 150,000 State Department cables onto his unclassified personal computer. He’s charged with leaking more than 50 of them. The Pentagon has described Manning as a “person of interest” in the leaking of the 92,000-entry Afghan war log partially published by WikiLeaks in July.

WikiLeaks has never acknowledged that Manning is a source. Nonetheless the site, as well as a number of other organizations and websites, have been raising funds for Manning’s defense.

Manning isn’t the only one facing legal trouble, however.

Swedish authorities announced on Wednesday that they were re-opening a rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Public Prosecutions Director Marianne Ny said there was “reason to believe a crime has been committed” and that the crime was classified as rape.

She also announced she was re-classifying a second “molestation” case against Assange as one of sexual coercion and sexual molestation.

Assange, who was questioned by investigators on Tuesday, has maintained his innocence.

(Image: Anti-war protesters rally for Bradley Manning in Quantico, Virginia last month. Creative Commons photo courtesy mar is sea Y/Flickr)

See also:

• Alleged WikiLeaks Leaker Hires Civilian Attorney
• Mississippi Lawyer Drawn Into WikiLeaks Intrigue
• Cyberwar Against Wikileaks? Good Luck With That
• WikiLeaks Suspect’s YouTube Videos Raised ‘Red Flag’ in 2008
• WikiLeaks Releases Stunning Afghan War Logs — Is Iraq Next?
• Suspected WikiLeaks Source Described Crisis of Conscience Leading to Leaks
• U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in WikiLeaks Video Probe

Authors: Kim Zetter

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