Wikileaks case: Manning’s lawyer seeks removal of hearing officer

Appearing in a military courtroom for the first time Friday, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning said “yes” when asked if he understood the charges against him in a case that involves one of the largest national security breaches in U.S. history.

Manning’s civilian lawyer quickly brought the pretrial proceeding to a temporary halt, however, when he filed a motion seeking removal of the presiding military officer because he works as a federal prosecutor in civilian life.

Manning’s attorneys said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Paul Almanza is a full-time prosecutor in the child exploitation and obscenity section of the criminal division of the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department is investigating if anyone assisted Manning when he allegedly downloaded more than half a million classified U.S. documents to his computer, and then transferred them to the WikiLeaks website, where many were later posted online, said Manning’s civilian defense attorney David E. Coombs.

“A reasonable person looking from the outside would say clearly the investigating officer is biased,” Coombs said.

The hearing was suspended 30 minutes after it began when Almanza considered the defense’s objections to his role.

Manning was an Army intelligence officer in Iraq when he was arrested in May 2010. He is charged with aiding the enemy, transmitting national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act, and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

On Friday, he wore Army fatigues and the patch of his unit, the 10th Mountain Division. He took notes next to his lawyers inside a low-slung brick courtroom at Ft. Meade, a sprawling Army base that also hosts headquarters for the National Security Agency.

In the military justice system, the pretrial proceeding, called an Article 32 hearing, allows defense lawyers to challenge the government’s evidence. At its conclusion, the presiding officer makes a recommendation on whether sufficient evidence exists to move to a full court-martial.