Manning Defense Makes Final Pitch

Pfc. Bradley Manning's defense is no longer claiming their client is innocent, as the two sides make their closing arguments in the weeklong pretrial hearing. Instead Manning’s lawyers argue that the prosecution overcharged him in an attempt to pressure him into pleading guilty. The prosecution responded that the charge of aiding the enemy is justified because of evidence that information Manning allegedly gave to WikiLeaks made its way into the hands of al Qaeda. The defense asked the investigating officer to throw out the aiding-the-enemy charge, reducing Manning’s maximum penalty to 30 years instead of life.