Video/Transcript: AC360 – Bradley Manning’s father exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper
Today, a military judge has consolidated several of Army Private Bradley Manning’s convictions, reducing his maximum possible sentence from 136 years to 90. Manning is accused of the biggest leak in US history – leaking classified documents and videos to the web site WikiLeaks.
Tonight on AC360°, his father, Brian Manning spoke exclusively with Anderson Cooper.
Transcript below.
Rushed transcript –
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A 360 exclusive tonight. The sentencing phase of Bradley Manning’s trial is in its second week right now. Today a military judge consolidated some of the Army’s private criminal convictions, reducing his maximum possible prison sentence to 90 years instead of 136 years.
As you know, Manning was convicted of stealing and leaking 750,000 pages of classified documents and videos to WikiLeaks. He was acquitted of aiding the enemy which was the most serious of the charges but he was found guilty of violating the Espionage Act.
To some, the 25-year-old former intelligence analyst is a traitors, to others he’s a hero. To Brian Manning he’s a son whose in deep trouble. They haven’t talked in months. Bradley Manning dropped his dad from his visitor’s list in confinement.
In this first interview since the court martial began Brian Manning made it clear he has not given up on his son. Here is my exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So when you heard the news of your son’s conviction, 20 counts, what went through your mind?
BRIAN MANNING, BRADLEY MANNING’S FATHER: I was relieved to know that he had taken that one charge out that —
COOPER: The aiding the enemy charge?
MANNING: Yes, so I was a little relieved about that, but then I still did the math in my head and said well, if he was sentenced to all the other crimes, it’d still be — you know, he’d be 90 to 100 years old before he ever saw the light of day and it was — it kind of upsetting and frightening, you know, that your son is being accused of these horrible breaches of security.
COOPER: Early on, I know you were defending your son saying you believe he’s innocent, that he is a scapegoat. Do you still believe that he didn’t leak classified documents?
MANNING: In my heart I believe that. And —
COOPER: You believe he’s innocent?
MANNING: Right, and logistically, I can’t understand because knowing the computer as well as I do, how you can get that much data out of a room with three other people in there, you know, sitting in close proximity where everybody can see what everybody was doing, it’s — I can’t understand how that could be done.
COOPER: So you think he’s being set up?
MANNING: Well, there was an altercation, I guess, where he struck one —
COOPER: His superiors.
MANNING: One of the people that he worked with.
COOPER: Right.
MANNING: And so after that, the relationship between — I think it was three other people really soured. So I don’t know if somebody tried to turn the table on him or whatever.
COOPER: He said to the court — I mean, he confessed that he did leak to WikiLeaks, and he said to the court that he wanted to, quote, spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general.
MANNING: Yes, I think he was grandstanding. He was — been used to running his life on his own. He was a man of the house. And he had problems adjusting to that. So I feel part of that was — he had a lot of pride.
COOPER: There are some people who believe your son is a hero for what he — for what he says he did. When you hear that, what do you think?
MANNING: Well, you know, I get a — a certain amount of pride when they said, you know, that he’s been nominated for the Nobel Prize, and other comments they’ve made about, you know, supporting him.
COOPER: I’m just trying to see where you are on this because on the one hand you say there’s no justification for leaking classified information, and the other hand, when you hear people call him a hero it gives you a sense of pride.
MANNING: Right, and you have to separate those because, I mean, I never since day one of when I was in the military with a clearance, to this day I have never said a single word of what I did.
COOPER: Right.
MANNING: You know, and that’s going back a long ways. And I wouldn’t — I wouldn’t — I wish he had the character, you know, to stay that way.
COOPER: So you think if he did leak this information that would be a wrong thing?
MANNING: I do.
COOPER: You do?
MANNING: To me, you know, it’s my country as well. And leaking information that’s going to damage my country and the soldiers in our military, you know, that would be very upsetting.
COOPER: If you were able to talk freely with him, what would you say to him?
MANNING: I was — would basically tell him, you know, right off the bat that he had no excuse whatsoever for allegedly releasing that information.
COOPER: Is there any message you want to get across to him?
MANNING: I’d like to, you know, just like in Quantico but right before we ended our visit, it was always, I love you, son, and he said, love you, dad. And I still love my son.
COOPER: I’m so sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances but I appreciate you talking to me.
MANNING: OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Bradley Manning’s father Brian. You can see much more of my interview with Brian Manning on our Web site at AC360.com.
(END)