Manning's defense caught a potential break during the cross-examination of a Special Agent David Shaver, a forensic investigator with the Computer Crimes Investigations Unit. On Sunday, Shaver testified that he found 10,000 U.S. cables on Manning's computer. But in today's cross-examination Shaver said none of those cables matched the cables that WikiLeaks published. "If the cables found on Manning's computer don't match the ones WikiLeaks has, the defense can argue that Julian Assange's outfit may have had a different source for the documents," observes The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal, saying it could become a "lynchpin of the defense's case."
One of the bigger revelations prosecutors unveiled was a chat discussion between Manning and a user identified as "Julian Assange" on Manning's computer, reports Wired's Kim Zetter. For those who are curious, Assange's handle was "dawgnetwork" while Manning's password was "TWink1492." (We're not sure what the numbers signify other than the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but the word is a slur for a young gay man.) Specifics on the nature of the conversations were slim. More importantly, in one of the chats Manning had with a photographer, he confesses to leaking the famous Apache helicopter video which shows the death of two Reuters employees:
Manning: Are you familiar with WikiLeaks?Bringing Assange closer to the case, one of the files found on Manning included contact information for Assange and instructions on uploading data to WikiLeaks, reports The Guardian. That's important because anything connecting Assange and Manning will be critical to the potential prosecution of Assange, notes the newspaper. "One of the huge questions surrounding Manning's prosecution is whether he could have done what he is accused of having done - downloaded the largest leak of state secrets in American history - without the help of go-betweens connecting him with Julian Assange."
Schmiedl: Yea, I am
Manning: I'm the one who released the video
In today's most unexpected development, famous whistleblower and transparency activist Daniel Ellsberg showed up at the trial and was escorted out after trying to speak to Manning during the hearing. CNN reports:
At a break in the proceedings, Ellsberg stood up and walked toward the front of the section for spectator sitting and leaned over to talk to Manning at the defense table.Ellsberg is of course famous for leaking secrets about the Vietnam War and has compared himself to Manning on a number of occasions. "I wanted to tell him I was here, that one of his supporters was here," Ellsberg said later in the day. "I didn't know the rules. It was my first day."
Military police moved in quickly and grabbed Ellsberg by the arms and walked him out outside..
Ellsberg was later allowed to return after he told security officials he was unfamiliar with the courtroom rules that prohibit contact with the defendant.
Julian Assange, an Australian, would not be using the slang, "Good to go" "hiya" etc. found in the chat logs being attributed to him in the trial:
Pressassociation: 5-6 hours for total upload?
Dawgnetwork: uploaded
Dawgnetwork: no, it was like 5 minutes
Dawgnetwork: ping
Dawgnetwork: ping
Dawgnetwork: anyway, should be good to go with that
Dawgnetwork: news?
Dawgnetwork: โฆ
Dawgnetwork: hi
Dawgnetwork: hiya
pressassociation: i like debates.
pressassociation: just finished one on the IMMI, and crushed some wretch from the journalists union
Dawgnetwork: vid?
pressassociation: of this?