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Experts on the military justice system agree that President Obama was unwise to make a comment last week about Army Private Bradley Manning, accused of giving classified US government documents to Wikileaks. But they disagree about whether the statement will undermine the military's prosecution of Manning.
After a fundraising event in San Francisco last Thursday, the president was approached about the Manning case, an encounter recorded on cellphone video and uploaded to the Internet. After explaining that federal law prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of classified documents, Mr. Obama said, "He broke the law."
Presidents and other senior officials often make statements about the guilt of defendants who are awaiting trial before a jury. What's different about this case, however, is that President Obama is the commander-in-chief of the military, and Manning will be tried before a military court.
Rules for courts martial ban the exertion of "undue command influence." Many supporters of Pvt. Manning have argued that his trial is now tainted because the president, the nation's most senior commander, has pronounced judgment that Manning is guilty.
In an op-ed appearing in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times, a former military prosecutor says many critics of the court-martial system often believe that military jurors simply ask themselves one question, referring to their commanders: what does the Old Man want us to do?
"When the jurors retire to the deliberation room at the Manning court martial, they will not have to speculate on the answer; arguably the most important 'Old Man' of them all has spoken, and he said Manning is guilty," writes Morris Davis, a retired Air Force officer and former prosecutor at Guantanamo.
The president should have been more circumspect, agrees Eugene Fidell, an expert on the military justice system. But he believes Obama's comment will not affect the outcome of Manning's trial.
"It will generate motions by the defense and will require some care in selecting the military members of the jury, a process already complicated by the extensive press coverage of this case," Fidell said. "It was going to have to be a very careful questioning process for potential jurors, to ask if they have seen reports or read about the case. Now they'll also have to be asked whether they heard the president's comment and if that would make any difference to them. But that will be the extent of it, and they'll get on with the trial."
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President Obama gave an impromptu answer on the fly.
He offered his honest thoughts about Bradley Manning.
In any event, he didn't lie...he told the truth.
Give him a break.
Agreed. Obama was just "Carnival barking" when he said it.
Holy Cr@P bag boy!
Who would of ever guessed, but, I'm in 100% agreement with you!
Even voted for the comment!
Maybe I should stop and buy a lottery ticket on the way home! ;o)
@ JS1 - As usual you have it bass akwards - it's the CHUMP who does the snarky barking these days kind of like you, darling!
Now Oprah! What does she say about Manning? That carries some weight (especially with Oprah!), some authority, some gravitas as it were!
Funny thing about this is that Manning is being court martialed for given away secrets in his Wikileaks dump.
What did the Wikileaks reveal ......... that Obama gave the Russians ...... British nuclear secrets regarding their Trident missiles.
This is where i disagree with my fellow Democrats. Presidents in the past have shyed away from commenting on Court Cases that are Pending. What this will do in the future for this case is anyones guess.
RoBo BoB-br549, i'm pretty sure if that was the case, the British would've screamed Bloody Murder & we would've heard about it by Now. However, it seems as tho, You & NJ are the ONLY ones in the World to have heard that.
Living in Lalaland, the Capital of the State of Denial, still ?
MB. Good post
Rick,
The Daily Mail, the Telegraph ........ (them's british papers) .........
Funny that MSNBC didn't cover it, huh?
The British screaming "Bloody Murder?" That's not like them. I am sure they will have a polite conversation this weekend when Obama goes over for the wedding ......... oh wait ...... the Obama's, didn't make the 2,000 guest cut list.
Oh well. Google it genius......might learn something.
Sorry bob but that was debunked last year.
They got notified under the earlier START protocols of transfers of nuclear weapons — but they didn’t get the unique identifiers, which would quantify and specify the number of weapons transferred. No secrets were divulged.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/05/did-obama-agree-to-expose-british-nuke-secrets-in-start-pact/
Read the updates at the bottom.
Probably no surprise to anyone but I support Manning, Assange, and anyone else who shines light on what are the most wasteful, ineffective military actions since Vietnam. Any initial justification for going into Afghanistan has long since become irrelevent. Instead of commenting on this case, Pres. Obama should pick up his pen and sign the orders to leave Afghanistan and Iraq now. Yes, I know these were initially Bush's blunders, but there is no good reason for Obama to keep them going. {End of rant from the loony left}.
Debunked?
An Obama guy trying to cover for his boss denies it and it is supported by an unnamed British source / or possible janitor that doesn't comment on Wikileaks? No retraction from the Telegraph or Daily Mail, huh? Just a blog saying it ain't so joe.
OK - Works for you.
Yep, Dennis and completely debunked too. Though if poor bobby had any knowledge about the British, he might not make a fool of himself over HRH's wedding either. Only those without any culture would say such a thing, since they have no idea what the difference might be between a wedding for a royal, and a state occasion to which heads of state (other than crowned heads of state) might be invited to.
He's a lawyer and an officer of the court ... he should know better
A no comment would have been the right answer, but I guess even he's allow to stick is foot in his mouth every once in awhile!!
max,,,yes like every yime he is off the teleprompter!!!
Obama also picked Kansas to win the NCAA BB Tournament. That didn't work out either.
Nobody really pays too much attention to what Obama says anymore anyway.
JoAnnaSmith1
Obama also picked Kansas to win the NCAA BB Tournament. That didn't work out either.
Nobody really pays too much attention to what Obama says anymore anyway.
Girl the only thing you know about basketball is that alot of black guys play it.
That’s what you have been saying for two years and here you are every day telling everyone your version of what our President said.
Dennis,
You're right. There are other versions.
My version is that Obama was actually 0 for 4. Not one of his picks even made the Final Four!
The guy is actually more incompetent than even JoAnna suugested.
And how about that other sure bet pick-up game in Libya?
I hear China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Serbia are now backing Gadhafi.
Think the NATO subs and Obama are gonna win that one anytime in the next 5-10 years?
Great SmackDown Dennis!
Bush said "Mission Accomplished" 7 years ago, just after Wolfiwitz said Iraqi Oil would pay for playing in the sandBox of He!!,Cheney said something about pushingup Daiseys, Rummy said ya go to war with whatcha got, not whatcha wished ya had!
RoBoBoB-br549, maybe that tells anyone with a Brain, how much Time was spent on those Picks. But listening to yall from LalaLand, he spent countless months on it, even tho the Trny starts, 1 week from selection process.
I really think Manning's defense is going to go something like this...Yes, I broke the law BUT...and go on to compare himself with Daniel Ellsberg and the realease of the Pentagon Papers.
I really don't thing the Presidents comments will have any influence.
...and yes...he broke the law. See I can change my mind.
JoAnnaSmith1
Obama also picked Kansas to win the NCAA BB Tournament. That didn't work out either.
Very Funny joke lady
Nobody really pays too much attention to what Obama says anymore anyway.
Have you looked at all the naysayers and threads on just this website along? Or the number of times you post your dribble?
How can you defend the negative feed back you're getting from the Republicans now about your Wonder boy, Paul Ryan's path to destruction? You know Ryan's been shedding tears at town halls now.
How's paying attention?
Nobody really pays too much attention to what JoAnna Smith1 says anymore anyway, either!
That's really funny Feisty. Seems like just a few moments ago on the last thread you responded directly to JAS1.
So which is it - are you ignoring her, and not paying too much attention, OR monitoring her every word and pouncing when you think[and you are always wrong to hilarious result] you can play "gotcha."
Feisty you and Obama are a lot alike - say one thing, do another.
Birds of a feather and all that.
Spanky,
I know I've come late to the Party but it seems as though you have a thang for Feisty? It seems as though no matter what she says or to whom she is speaking you gotta chime in! I think you ought to just get it over with and belly up to Feisty and admit you have it bad for her. We won't think any worse of you here than we already do. Or either just leave her alone with your irrelevant posts that are personal and off topic.
Man we all have opinions on the topic but you and Fiesty uh there's some fire and passion right there. This may be a hook up. Be an Officer and a Gentleman and sweep your girl off her feet take her to blog heaven somewhere where we DONT have to read the Courtship of the Feisty Blogger!
Spanky-
That's really funny Feisty. Seems like just a few moments ago on the last thread you responded directly to JAS1.
What if Feisty ignored you? I have a question for you. Why did you state your post in sentence form and not as a question?
What happened has your signature shape not risen; yet?
Bev,
I've had the demanding little pr!ck on 'ignore author' for weeks now!
Little Spunky playing an attorney on FR has grown tiresome!
Given his grammatical & punctuation errors, he's more than likely a unemplyed 30 year old who subscribes to Car & Driver, living in Mama's basement with an endless supply of Cheetos's!
People will 'real'money NEVER brag about it, especially on a anonymous, political chat board! ;o)
And there it is again - Feisty it would appear that you have an impulse control issue.
Yeah, and sure people with real money don't drive nice cars or live in fancy houses either. But then again, even you the self proclaimed queen of the "no brainer" must know that background like education, employment and yes income level are germane to many of the topics here. Ya know, like taxes, the Social security cap, and of course Obamacare. Or perhaps I totally wrong and we should just here the perspective of someone like you. Because good golly but your comments sure do advance the discussion.
But hey, you employ whatever warped logic you need to get get through the lovely life you have created for yourself, which as we all know is you spending essentially every waking moment on this here blog.
Although your comment does raise an interesting question - what role are you playing here: village idiot? See Feisty that was too easy. You can do much better. In fact I demand that you try harder tomorrow, k?
But I do loves me some cheetos. You got any?
And Bev. I'm sorry I just cannot de-code what you have written. And gosh darn it I got my Bev. super secret decoder ring that I got with my last purchase of King Cobra. :)
See you two ladies tomorrow.
Spank(er)-
What happened has your signature form not risen; yet?
Earlier this month, 30 retired Air Force Generals sent a letter to Senators Levin and McCain asking them to block the administration from cutting half (3 of 6) General officer positions from the Air Force JAG Corps (no cuts are proposed for the JAG Corps of other services). The Air Force Times reported on April 9th:
The retired generals allege political appointees in the Pentagon have attempted to limit the independence of military judge advocates for decades and have “attempted to muzzle and subjugate military lawyers by executive fiat and multiple ‘hostile takeover’ efforts to bring them under the direct control and supervision of the appointees.” [The article continues, quoting from the letter] "The Air Force JAG Corps led the way in that particular effort (opposing enhanced interrogation techniques and rejection of Geneva Convention coverage for detainees at Gitmo) to keep the military on the right side of the law,” they wrote. “Following that episode, Congress enacted a provision that prohibits DoD personnel from interfering with independent JAG advice. In Washington, of course, the political bureaucracy never forgets a slight.”
At least 30 retired Generals believe the current move is payback for JAG officers exercising independent judgment and not toeing the politcal line. Add the firings of GEN McCrystal and P. J. Crowley and the perception that the administration has a vindictive streak and punishes dissent is not totally unreasonable. That perception has no place in the military justice system.
Teleprompter must have been on the fritz
The guy finally shows a smattering of leadership, not to mention balls, and a member of his primary support system, the former mainstream media, guts him for it. Go figure.
If he doesn't comment on it he gets accused of condoning the acts. If he does he gets gutted. He will always be in a lose, lose situation, never satisfying anyone.
Much to do over nothing...........Now if this was a Federal case and Holder was running the show.........then there could be influence and mishandling.
The ACLU is going to have something to say about that.................no wait. Forget I said that
Obama is not Anti-American, he is just Un-American
As America knows...
The more MSNBC tries to "sell" Barack Obama to America.... the more negatively it works against Barack Obama...
Since America knows that MSNBC is so very well known for their biased distortions and total hatred for those who disagree with their blatant lies....
With his popularity dropping daily....Barack Obama is beginning to realize that it would be in his best interest to completely remove himself from previous ties he has had with MSNBC....because as president of the United States..... he realizes it's NOT in his best interest to have the devil in your corner as your cheerleader and personal credibility reference....
MSNBC loves to take credit for being the one who put Barack Obama in office.... and soon, they will also prove to be the cause of Barack Obama's inevitable demise, as well.
There is no issue here at all! The "Nazi News Network." AKA. Fox News. Loves to stir-up the "zombie" followers that love madness and misinformation. They love the continuing the spewing of turning nothing into something for ratings of their continuous rantings. Did Manning bread the law?? YES! It is never an issue when the President speaks honestly however, not to the GOP/RNC. They love the lies that "Brainless Bush" spewed to them for 8 years of mental madness. What a joke America!