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"Bradley Manning effectively admitted during court proceedings Thursday to providing Wikileaks with classified military documents and footage. Manning also claimed he first tried to contact several U.S. news organizations before going to Wikileaks. \nManning took the stand in Fort Meade, Va. at his pre-trial hearing and plead guilty to 10 of the lesser charges he faces, which combined carry a possible jail sentence of 20 years. In doing so, he essentially admitted to being Wikileaks' source. However, he pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges, including that of \"aiding the enemy,\" which can carry a death sentence. Prosecutors in the case have said they would seek life in prison at most if Manning is found guilty of the charge.\nFollowing his plea entries, Manning read a 35-page prepared statement addressing what went through his mind in the Spring of 2010 when he leaked the \"Collateral Murder\" video, the so-called Afghanistan and Iraq war logs as well as thousands of diplomatic cables to Julian Assange and Wikileaks. \nIn what was probably the most unexpected revelation, Manning said he first contacted The New York Times, the Washington Post and Politico before turning to Wikileaks. He also wanted to give the Collateral Murder video to Reuters. Manning said Washington Post reporters with whom he spoke seemed uninterested, and The Times did not return his calls. Times reporter Charlie Savage noted that it's not clear if Manning actually connected with The Times' newsroom.\nAccording to several reporters covering the hearing, Manning said in his testimony that he leaked the documents and video because he thought the public deserved to know. \n\"I believed and still believe these are some of most important documents of our time,\" Manning said, according to Bradley Manning Support Network editor Nathan Fuller, who is at the hearing.\nManning also said he became \"depressed\" with the situation in Iraq and thought the world would be a better place if the public could read the State Department cables which became the leak known as \"Cablegate.\"\nIn defending himself against the accusation of \"aiding the enemy,\" Manning declared that he only wanted to leak documents that would \"embarrass\" the U.S. government, not cause actual harm.\nManning also revealed that throughout the leaking process he maintained contact with a Wikileaks representative that he believed was founder Julian Assange. According to some observers, the Department of Justice is trying to prove Assange had an active role in getting Manning to leak the documents. Assange believes the U.S. government has convened a secret grand jury to assess whether to prosecute him for publishing Manning's leaks \u2014 a theory which has been corroborated by news reports. \nManning, however, said that nobody from Wikileaks pressured him to release the documents.\n\"I take full responsibility,\" he said, according to the Times' Savage.\nSpeaking about the famous Collateral Murder video, Manning said that the thing that most disturbed him was that the soldier heard in the footage \"seemed to not value human life by referring to them as 'dead bastards.'\" The footage showed a U.S. Apache helicopter opening fire on a group of people, some armed and others not, and killing 12, including two Reuters staffers.\n\"The most alarming part to me was the seemingly delightful bloodlust,\" he said.\nSEE ALSO: Wikileaks Says Aaron Swartz Was a Possible Source\n\nThe judge in the proceedings rejected on Tuesday the defense team's argument the case should be dropped because unnecessary delays in the case meant Manning's right to a speedy trial was denied. \nIn January, the judge had already refused to throw away all the charges on the basis of Manning's pre-trial treatment, which the defense argued was \"inhuman\" and comparable to torture. \nThe Pentagon on Wednesday released a portion of the courtroom documents relating to Manning's case. The trial is set to begin on June 3. \nManning's full statement has not yet been released to the public. The hearing is still ongoing and Mashable will update the story throughout the day.\nImage via Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/bradley-manning-reveals-how-and-why-he-leaked-secret-documents/>