Court-martial prosecutors wrapped up their case on Tuesday against the soldier charged with providing a trove of secret material to WikiLeaks in the biggest leak of classified files in US history.
Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, faces 21 charges, including espionage, computer fraud and, most seriously, aiding the enemy. Manning could face life in prison without parole if convicted.
Judge Colonel Denise Lind allowed the final prosecution witness, Daniel Lewis, a counterintelligence adviser at the Defence Intelligence Agency, to testify in a closed session. An unclassified summary of his testimony – largely about the value of the material Manning provided to WikiLeaks – will be read into the record.
Lewis was the government’s 28th in-person witness since the trial started on June 3. More than 50 written statements from witnesses have also been submitted by prosecutors.
Lind set a court recess from Wednesday to Monday, when “we will proceed with the defence case”, she said.
The defence has listed 46 potential witnesses and the trial is scheduled to run to August 23.