Bradley Manning Found Not Guilty of Aiding the Enemy

Bradley Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy in a military court-martial on Tuesday after Manning requested that a judge, not a jury, decide his fate. Manning is a 25-year-old Army private who handed over thousands of U.S. military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks, an international nonprofit which publishes secret information from anonymous sources.

Although Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy, he was convicted of five espionage counts, five theft charges, a computer fraud charge and other military infractions. The charge of aiding the enemy was, however, the most serious charge Manning faced and carried a possible life sentence without parole.

Manning pled guilty earlier this year to 10 of his 22 counts.

Manning's case is one of seven leak-related criminal prosecutions brought under the Obama administration in the past four and a half years. The number of criminal prosecutions under the Obama administration is more than double the number of similar cases in all prior administrations combined.

A video Manning leaked showed a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter killing at least nine men and caused a great deal of controversy because it allegedly showed unarmed civilians being killed. The U.S. military disputed these allegations, saying it was incorrectly portrayed due to "editing."

Manning's sentencing hearing is set to begin on Wednesday.