For Your Information: Beginning The Consideration Of The Manning Legal Issues.
Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old army intelligence analyst who allegedly bragged of his involvement in the Wikileaks Collateral Murder video, has been charged with “four counts of violating Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for disobeying an order or regulation and eight counts of violating Article 134, a general charge for misconduct, which in this case involved breaking Federal laws against disclosing classified information,” reports The New York Times. According to The Guardian, Wikileaks has supplied Manning with three lawyers, all of whom it sounds as if he’ll need.
However, Wikileaks has previously denied that Manning was the one who gave the site the classified information. That possible lack of affiliation has not prevented Wikileaks from taking up his cause on its Twitter feed. “If the charges against Manning are true, he will be the Daniel Ellsberg of our times,” Wikileaks tweeted, referring to the former army analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and several newspapers. Ellsberg himself agrees with this assessment, telling the Associated Press that Manning “is the first person in 39 years to do something comparable to what I did—and really better than what I did, because it's current.” If you agree, do head over to BradleyManning.org, where there are petitions to sign and Facebook groups to promote.
Officially he has been charged with four counts of violating Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for disobeying an order or regulation and eight counts of violating Article 134, a general charge for misconduct, which in this case involved breaking federal laws against disclosing classified information.
934. ART. 134. GENERAL ARTICLE
Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter, all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.The military prohibits certain kinds of relationships, which means that military members are not entirely free to associate with anyone they choose.
The military primarily uses two articles of the UCMJ to define what military relationships are proper and which are not. Those two articles are Article 92 and Article 134. Article 92 covers “unprofessional” relationships and Article 134 covers fraternization.
Unprofessional relationships are those that compromise military authority or create an appearance of impropriety. The definition of unprofessional relationship is a bit fluid, but it essentially covers relationships that adversely affect or have the reasonable potential to adversely affect the military by eroding morale, good order, discipline, respect for authority, unit cohesion, or by compromising the military mission itself.
Relationships between supervisors and subordinates have a high risk of becoming unprofessional. The military watches out for favoritism, misuse of position, and using a position to further one’s own goals. Actions that create just the appearance of impropriety can also be punished by the UCMJ.
Particular areas of concern include:
- Shared living accommodations
- Shared vacations
- Shared transportation
- Off-duty activities such as playing sports or drinking alcohol together
- Flirtation
- Sexual or romantic relations
- Sexual or romantic communications (text, email, etc.)
Unprofessional relationships can develop either on or off duty, and they can exist between officers, between enlisted personnel, or between officers and enlisted personnel, or between military personnel and civilian employees.
Article 92 also covers relationships between recruiter-recruit, faculty-student, and trainer-trainee. In fact, these are some of the most common cases we get.
Unlike Article 92, which covers everyone, Article 134 can only be used against officers. Specifically, Article 134 prohibits an unprofessional relationship between an officer and enlisted member. From the military’s perspective, fraternization is about boundaries: an inappropriate relationship between an officer and an enlisted member can compromise good order and discipline, discredit the military, or have the effect of dishonoring the officer corps. Officers have a heightened responsibility to avoid any relationship that puts the mission or the integrity of the officer corps in jeopardy.
Examples of conduct that might get officers in trouble if they engage in it with enlisted personnel:
- Gambling
- Lending money or borrow money
- Sexual or romantic relations
- Sharing living quarters
- Engaging in business or sales
Whether brought under Article 92 or Article 134, allegations of unprofessional relationships are some of the most common cases we handle. The military is very aggressive about these issues and it’s common for cases like this to be taken to a court-martial. Investigations often include a full review of email, text, and telephone communication, in addition to more traditional methods of investigation like interrogation and witness interviews. Any allegation of unprofessional relationship can destroy a career and result in jail time, loss of pay and allowances and all military benefits. At a minimum, it can destroy a reputation and compromise future promotions.
If you are faced with allegations of having engaged in an inappropriate relationship, you have a right to remain silent and you have a right to speak with an attorney. Our firm deals with cases like this all the time, and we often find that people are their own worst enemy: not just because of what they did in the relationship or what evidence they left behind, but because they willingly talk to authorities without first getting advice from an experienced criminal defense attorney. Please call us for a free consultation before you say anything or make any decisions.
U.S. Code READ CLOSELY THE ITALIZED WORDS! (Ed.)
§ 793. Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information
(a) Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation, goes upon, enters, flies over, or otherwise obtains information concerning any vessel, aircraft, work of defense, navy yard, naval station, submarine base, fueling station, fort, battery, torpedo station, dockyard, canal, railroad, arsenal, camp, factory, mine, telegraph, telephone, wireless, or signal station, building, office, research laboratory or station or other place connected with the national defense owned or constructed, or in progress of construction by the United States or under the control of the United States, or of any of its officers, departments, or agencies, or within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, or any place in which any vessel, aircraft, arms, munitions, or other materials or instruments for use in time of war are being made, prepared, repaired, stored, or are the subject of research or development, under any contract or agreement with the United States, or any department or agency thereof, or with any person on behalf of the United States, or otherwise on behalf of the United States, or any prohibited place so designated by the President by proclamation in time of war or in case of national emergency in which anything for the use of the Army, Navy, or Air Force is being prepared or constructed or stored, information as to which prohibited place the President has determined would be prejudicial to the national defense; or
(b) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, and with like intent or reason to believe, copies, takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts to copy, take, make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, document, writing, or note of anything connected with the national defense; or
(c) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, receives or obtains or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain from any person, or from any source whatever, any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note, of anything connected with the national defense, knowing or having reason to believe, at the time he receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain it, that it has been or will be obtained, taken, made, or disposed of by any person contrary to the provisions of this chapter; or
(d) Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or
(e) Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or
(f) Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense,
(1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or
(2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer—Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(g) If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.
(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law, any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from any foreign government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States, as the result of such violation. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the defendant forfeit to the United States all property described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (e) through (p) of section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853 (b), (c), and (e)–(p)) shall apply to—
if not inconsistent with this subsection.
(4) Notwithstanding section 524 (c) of title 28, there shall be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund in the Treasury all amounts from the forfeiture of property under this subsection remaining after the payment of expenses for forfeiture and sale authorized by law.
§ 810. Art. 10. Restraint of persons charged with offenses
Any person subject to this chapter charged with an offense under this chapter shall be ordered into arrest or confinement, as circumstances may require; but when charged only with an offense normally tried by a summary court-martial, he shall not ordinarily be placed in confinement. When any person subject to this chapter is placed in arrest or confinement prior to trial, immediate steps shall be taken to inform him of the specific wrong of which he is accused and to try him or to dismiss the charges and release him.
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