The defense closed with testimony from Harvard Law Professor Yochai Benkler, who said that WikiLeaks was performing a journalistic function at the time Manning gave them archives of classified documents.
Benkler, who wrote a widely cited academic paper about WikiLeaks and watchdog journalism on the Internet, testified that at the time of Manning's leaks the organization had established itself as a reputable journalistic organ.
Although WikiLeaks was initially regarded with skepticism, it published accurate information without having to retract anything, and by the time Manning leaked the documents in 2010, WikiLeaks had a reputation as a legitimate organization.
U.S. officials and lawmakers immediately began denouncing WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange after it published video of a Baghdad airstrike showing an American helicopter firing on Reuters journalists, obtained through Manning.
The New York Times, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel then went on to publish excerpts from the Afghan War logs, Iraq War logs, diplomatic cables and Guantanamo Bay files which had been sent to WikiLeaks by Manning.
Prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow asked Benkler whether he agreed that the release of documents in bulk was not journalism, and Benkler disagreed. He said that sometimes a database can hold important information even when no single document is newsworthy on its own.
He cited an analysis of the Iraq War logs that showed civilian casualties had been far higher than official estimates.
Read more:
Bradley Manning defense rests in WikiLeaks case - UPI.com
