Army private offers lesser plea in WikiLeaks case

The unilateral offer, if accepted by the military judge, would still leave the government free to prosecute Pfc. Bradley Manning on the original 22 counts, including aiding the enemy. That means even with the plea offer, he could still face life in prison.

Prosecutors could choose not to put Manning on trial for those more serious charges, but "I find it hard to imagine that happening in this case," said Eugene Fidell, a former Coast Guard judge advocate who teaches military law at Yale. "The government has had a very long time to conduct extensive investigations and presumably has its evidence ready to roll."

Defense attorney David Coombs revealed the offer Wednesday during a pretrial hearing. The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, will likely consider the plea at a Dec. 10 hearing unless the offer is withdrawn.

Manning would acknowledge he sent WikiLeaks hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war reports and State Department diplomatic cables, but wouldn't plead guilty to aiding the enemy or to violations of federal espionage and computer laws.

It is the first indication that the 24-year-old intelligence analyst will publicly acknowledge he leaked the records. The government regards the leak as a national security breach. But anti-secrecy advocates, including Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, say Manning is a hero. He has been in custody since his arrest in Iraq in May 2010. He is currently in pretrial confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Coombs also said Wednesday that Manning has chosen to be tried by a military judge, not a jury. His six-week trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 4.