Bradley Manning Acquitted of Aiding The Enemy

Bradley Manning has been found not guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the charges leveled against him by military prosecutors. He was also found not guilty of a charge of espionage, but found guilty of most of the other crimes with which he was charged. This is good news for our civil liberties; while betrayal of professional confidence and contract breaches are still torts, high treason continues to have a very specific definition, and the United States government does not have carte blanche to accuse and convict anyone of whom they decide to make an example.

 

If The Glove Does Not Fit, You Must Acquit

Last April, a man named John Brennan was arrested for indecent exposure in Portland, Oregon, when he got impatient with airport procedures and TSA agents and took off all of his clothing so that they could plainly see that he was not attempting to sneak explosives onto the plane. Apparently, a glove worn by a TSA agent had allegedly tested positive for silver nitrate, and the only possible source of silver nitrate was obviously John Brennan, so they hassled him. He was acquitted of indecent exposure by the Supreme Court in Oregon last year when a judge ruled that stripping off one's clothing in order to demonstrate that one is not carrying explosives is a legal expression of one's First Amendment rights. This should really serve as a lesson to a certain prosecutor in Marshall County, Kansas concerning constitutional rights. TSA is further harassing John Brennan about paying a fine of one thousand dollars, but as anyone watching this case would expect, he is appealing this.