NBC: U.S. can't link accused Army private to Assange

We were skeptical of this tie-in from the beginning. Since a lot of the documents were from the State Department, why were they on a DoD computer system and why didn't the system alert that classified was being downloaded?

Whatever smelled is turning out to be true as now the investigators can find no direct tie-in between Manning and Assange of Wikileaks. The military knows he downloaded documents and passed them on, but do they know which documents or who was his contact for the documents? Have they now determined all the documents on Wikileaks are not from Manning? Lots of questions with no answers.

Whoever in the Army chain of command allowed such a low ranked person to have all this access with little to no supervision, needs to be shown the door. This was no way to run a secured operation. Have a hard time believing that he could come and go from a secured room/area without receiving a full security check. If that is the case, the Army Security people have some explaining to do.

Hope they throw the book at Manning as a warning to everyone that sharing classified information will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. You take an oath and Manning violated that oath by downloading and passing on classified information. For Holder to even wonder if Manning should be charged under the espionage act has us wondering once again about this Attorney General.

NBC: U.S. can't link accused Army private to Assange
Military also denies allegations that Bradley Manning is being mistreated

By Jim Miklaszewski
Chief Pentagon correspondent

NBC News
updated 1/24/2011 7:55:01 PM ET
2011-01-25 00:55:01

U.S. military officials tell NBC News that investigators have been unable to make any direct connection between a jailed army private suspected with leaking secret documents and Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

The officials say that while investigators have determined that Manning had allegedly unlawfully downloaded tens of thousands of documents onto his own computer and passed them to an unauthorized person, there is apparently no evidence he passed the files directly to Assange, or had any direct contact with the controversial WikiLeaks figure.

Assange, an Australian national, is under house arrest at a British mansion near London, facing a Swedish warrant seeking his extradition for questioning on charges of rape. Assange has denied the allegations.

WikiLeaks' release of secret diplomatic cables last year caused a diplomatic stir and laid bare some of the most sensitive U.S. dealings with governments around the world. It also prompted an American effort to stifle WikiLeaks by pressuring financial institutions to cut off the flow of money to the organization.

U.S. Attorney General Eric holder has said his department is also considering whether it can prosecute the release of information under the Espionage Act.

Assange told msnbc TV last month that WikiLeaks was unsure Army PFC Bradley Manning is the source for the classified documents appearing on his site.

"That's not how our technology works, that's not how our organization works," Assange said. "I never heard of the name of Bradley Manning before it appeared in the media."

He called allegations that WikiLeaks had conspired with Manning "absolute nonsense."

Officials: No torture of Manning
On Monday, U.S. military officials also strongly denied allegations that Manning, being held in connection with the WikiLeaks' release of classified documents, has been "tortured" and held in "solitary confinement" without due process.

Excerpt: Read More at NBC News