Officer denies general directed treatment of GI accused in Wikileaks case
By DAVID DISHNEAU Associated Press November 27, 2012 6:46PM
Demonstrators stand in support of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning outside of Fort Meade, Md., Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, where Manning is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing. Manning is charged with aiding the enemy by causing hundreds of thousands of classified documents to be published on the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Updated: November 27, 2012 6:53PM
FORT MEADE, Md. — A retired Marine Corps colonel is denying that a three-star general directed the pretrial confinement of the Army private accused of giving classified documents to WikiLeaks.
Daniel Choike (CHOY’-kee) was installation commander of the Quantico, Va., Marine Corps base during Pfc. Bradley Manning’s nine months of confinement there. He testified Tuesday at a pretrial hearing for Manning.
Manning is seeking dismissal of the case, alleging he was illegally punished before trial by harsh confinement conditions at Quantico. His lawyers contend the conditions were directed by Lt. Gen. George Flynn, then-commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
Choke testified that he kept Flynn informed about the situation. But he says Flynn never influenced the decision to keep Manning on maximum security and prevention-of-injury status.
