Judge refuses to drop charges in Manning case - Americas - Al Jazeera English

Judge refuses to drop charges in Manning case - Americas - Al Jazeera English

A military judge has denied a motion to drop some of the charges against WikiLeaks suspect Private Bradley Manning, and said his trial would is likely to be delayed until November.
The judge, Denise Lind, on Friday rejected defence motions to dismiss 10 of 22 charges against Manning for allegedly spilling a trove of US intelligence secrets to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website.
The judge rejected the claim that eight charges of unauthorised possession and disclosure of classified information were "unconstitutionally vague," noting that the Supreme Court had rejected similar claims and had concluded there was no uncertainty in the law. "The court finds there's no uncertainty in the statute," she said.
On the third and final day of preliminary hearings, Lind also denied the defence's bid to drop two additional charges that Manning exceeded his authorisation to use the US Defence Department intranet.
She did, though, ask the government to provide more details on the charges.
The ruling "raises the burden on the government to prove more things," a military official told the AP news agency. "The government could dismiss [the two charges] or change them to make them survive."