Judge demands to see Wikileaks damage reports

FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge on Tuesday ordered Army prosecutors to provide government assessments of the potential damage caused by the online publication of reams of government secrets allegedly leaked by a low-level Army intelligence analyst.

Col. Denise Lind said during a pretrial hearing that she will review the documents to determine whether they contain information that must be given to Pfc. Bradley Manning’s defense lawyers. She told prosecutors to get her the damage assessments by May 18.

Lind’s ruling followed a sometimes heated courtroom debate over defense claims that prosecutors have not fulfilled their obligation to provide Manning’s lawyers with evidence they uncover that could aid the defense, a process called discovery.

Lind said she would rule Wednesday on another defense motion to dismiss all 22 charges against Manning.

The 24-year-old Oklahoma native is being court-martialed for allegedly downloading and sending to the antisecrecy website Wikileaks hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents, diplomatic cables and video clips.

Manning could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of aiding al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula by causing the information to be published. No trial date has been set, and Manning hasn’t entered a plea to the charges.

The pretrial hearing is scheduled to run through Thursday. It mainly concerns the production of evidence both sides will use to shape their trial strategies.

Manning’s attorneys are seeking damage assessments done by the CIA and the Departments of Justice, State and Defense to back up their claim that the leaked documents didn’t hurt U.S. interests.