In a New York Times op-ed, two esteemed First Amendment advocates argue that the Private Bradley Manning case underscores a grave threat to the press and public — no matter what you think of Manning’s judgment when he released volumes of documents to WikiLeaks.
While attorney Floyd Abrams argues that Manning acted carelessly, Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler asserts that Manning behaved much like Daniel Ellsberg, who famously released the Pentagon Papers — secret documents that revealed government lies about the Vietnam War.
But both agreed that Manning’s leaks and WikiLeaks’ publication of them should be protected by the First Amendment and that they play a crucial role in holding government accountable. The charges against Manning, they say, present a greater danger to democracy than any national security risk from disclosure.