Defense wins round on WikiLeaks helicopter video

Defense wins round on WikiLeaks helicopter video

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A military judge in Maryland says lawyers for Army Pfc. Bradley Manning can offer evidence contradicting the government’s assertion that he revealed classified information in a leaked battlefield video from Iraq.

Col. Denise Lind took judicial notice of the document today during Manning’s court-martial at Fort Meade. Judicial notice is a preliminary step toward admitting evidence.

The document is an assessment by a former U.S. Central Command official of video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad. Two Reuters news employees died in the attack. His assessment was that the video should be unclassified.

That contradicts evidence offered by prosecutors. They have presented a Pentagon official’s assessment that the video revealed military tactics and procedures.

Manning admits giving the video to WikiLeaks but denies revealing national defense information.