By . David Mccormack . PUBLISHED: . 08:34 EST, 8 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:52 EST, 8 November 2012 . The U.S. Army soldier charged with providing WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands of classified documents, has offered a partial guilty plea in a bid to avoid prosecution for some of the most serious charges against him. Last year, the military slapped Pfc. Bradley Manning's with 22 charges, including alleging that he caused ‘intelligence belonging to the United States government’ to be published on the internet. Manning's civilian defense attorney, David Coombs, says his client is offering to take responsibility for some of the less serious offenses that are encapsulated within the charged crimes. Manning is willing to plead guilty to providing data to WikiLeaks, but not to the government's charge that he 'aided the enemy' It is understood Manning is willing to plead . guilty to providing the data to WikiLeaks, but not to the government's . charge that he 'aided the enemy' or 'exceeded authorized access' on his . computer. Even if the court accepts the offer, military prosecutors could still try to prove Manning guilty of the more serious charges. They include aiding the enemy, punishable by life imprisonment. Coombs revealed the offer Wednesday during a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland. The hearing continues Thursday. He stressed that the plea is not part of any agreement or deal with prosecutors. Manning's court-martial is set to begin in February 2013, he has elected to be tried by a military judge rather than a jury. The military's 2012 Manual for Courts-Martial  allows defendants to offer hybrid pleas to judges, including 'not guilty to an offense as charged, but guilty of a named lesser included offense' and 'not guilty of the exceptions, but guilty of the substitutions.' Manning was hailed as a 'hero' by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in August. Speaking from a balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, he called Manning 'one of the world's foremost political prisoners.' Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has hailed Manning as a hero and 'one of the world's foremost political prisoners' A gaunt looking Manning is escorted to court in June for his pretrial hearing . Assange also said the Army wants 'to break him [Manning], to force him to testify against WikiLeaks and me.' The once-round-faced soldier looking dramatically gaunt and frail when he appeared in court in June for his pretrial hearing, compared to photos released following his arrest in May 2010. Manning, a 24-year-old Crescent, . Okla., native, is charged with knowingly aiding al-Qaeda in the Arabian . Peninsula by allegedly causing hundreds of thousands of classified war . logs, video clips and diplomatic cables to be published on the . secret-sharing website WikiLeaks. The Oklahoma native allegedly gave the anti-secrecy website more than 700,000 documents and video clips. Authorities say he downloaded the . files from a Defense Department network while working as an intelligence . analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010. Emotional turmoil: Manning's lawyers say he was a gay soldier at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly . Defense lawyers have previously sought to portray Manning as a troubled young soldier whom the Army should never have . deployed to Iraq or given access to classified material while he was . stationed there from late 2009 to mid-2010. At . a preliminary hearing last December, military prosecutors produced . evidence that Manning downloaded and electronically transferred to . WikiLeaks nearly half a million sensitive battlefield reports from Iraq . and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables, and video . of a deadly 2007 Army helicopter attack that WikiLeaks shared with the . world and dubbed 'Collateral Murder.' Manning's lawyers countered that . others had access to Manning's workplace computers. They say he was in . emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay soldier at a time when . homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. Campaign: The Bradley Manning Support Group has described his prosecution as 'fundamentally unjust' The . defense also claims Manning's apparent disregard for security rules . during stateside training and his increasingly violent outbursts after . deployment were red flags that should have prevented him from having . access to classified material. Manning's lawyers also contend that the . material WikiLeaks published did little or no harm to national security. In . the December hearing, prosecutors also presented . excerpts of online chats found on Manning's personal computer that . allegedly document collaboration between him and Julian Assange. The . Bradley Manning Support Group, which contends Manning heroically . exposed war crimes, has described his prosecution as 'fundamentally unjust.' 'This . administration owes all Americans an honest explanation for their . extraordinary retaliation against Bradley Manning,' said Jeff Paterson, . one of the group's lead organizers.
Private Manning is charged with providing WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands of classified documents .
His attorney says he wants to offer a partial guilty plea .
Military prosecutors could still try to .
prove him guilty of 'aiding .
the enemy' - punishable by life imprisonment .
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called Manning 'one of the world's foremost political prisoners'
By . David Mccormack . PUBLISHED: . 08:34 EST, 8 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:52 EST, 8 November 2012 . The U.S. Army soldier charged with providing WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands of classified documents, has offered a partial guilty plea in a bid to avoid prosecution for some of the most serious charges against him. Last year, the military slapped Pfc. Bradley Manning's with 22 charges, including alleging that he caused ‘intelligence belonging to the United States government’ to be published on the internet. Manning's civilian defense attorney, David Coombs, says his client is offering to take responsibility for some of the less serious offenses that are encapsulated within the charged crimes. Manning is willing to plead guilty to providing data to WikiLeaks, but not to the government's charge that he 'aided the enemy' It is understood Manning is willing to plead . guilty to providing the data to WikiLeaks, but not to the government's . charge that he 'aided the enemy' or 'exceeded authorized access' on his . computer. Even if the court accepts the offer, military prosecutors could still try to prove Manning guilty of the more serious charges. They include aiding the enemy, punishable by life imprisonment. Coombs revealed the offer Wednesday during a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland. The hearing continues Thursday. He stressed that the plea is not part of any agreement or deal with prosecutors. Manning's court-martial is set to begin in February 2013, he has elected to be tried by a military judge rather than a jury. The military's 2012 Manual for Courts-Martial  allows defendants to offer hybrid pleas to judges, including 'not guilty to an offense as charged, but guilty of a named lesser included offense' and 'not guilty of the exceptions, but guilty of the substitutions.' Manning was hailed as a 'hero' by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in August. Speaking from a balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, he called Manning 'one of the world's foremost political prisoners.' Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has hailed Manning as a hero and 'one of the world's foremost political prisoners' A gaunt looking Manning is escorted to court in June for his pretrial hearing . Assange also said the Army wants 'to break him [Manning], to force him to testify against WikiLeaks and me.' The once-round-faced soldier looking dramatically gaunt and frail when he appeared in court in June for his pretrial hearing, compared to photos released following his arrest in May 2010. Manning, a 24-year-old Crescent, . Okla., native, is charged with knowingly aiding al-Qaeda in the Arabian . Peninsula by allegedly causing hundreds of thousands of classified war . logs, video clips and diplomatic cables to be published on the . secret-sharing website WikiLeaks. The Oklahoma native allegedly gave the anti-secrecy website more than 700,000 documents and video clips. Authorities say he downloaded the . files from a Defense Department network while working as an intelligence . analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010. Emotional turmoil: Manning's lawyers say he was a gay soldier at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly . Defense lawyers have previously sought to portray Manning as a troubled young soldier whom the Army should never have . deployed to Iraq or given access to classified material while he was . stationed there from late 2009 to mid-2010. At . a preliminary hearing last December, military prosecutors produced . evidence that Manning downloaded and electronically transferred to . WikiLeaks nearly half a million sensitive battlefield reports from Iraq . and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables, and video . of a deadly 2007 Army helicopter attack that WikiLeaks shared with the . world and dubbed 'Collateral Murder.' Manning's lawyers countered that . others had access to Manning's workplace computers. They say he was in . emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay soldier at a time when . homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. Campaign: The Bradley Manning Support Group has described his prosecution as 'fundamentally unjust' The . defense also claims Manning's apparent disregard for security rules . during stateside training and his increasingly violent outbursts after . deployment were red flags that should have prevented him from having . access to classified material. Manning's lawyers also contend that the . material WikiLeaks published did little or no harm to national security. In . the December hearing, prosecutors also presented . excerpts of online chats found on Manning's personal computer that . allegedly document collaboration between him and Julian Assange. The . Bradley Manning Support Group, which contends Manning heroically . exposed war crimes, has described his prosecution as 'fundamentally unjust.' 'This . administration owes all Americans an honest explanation for their . extraordinary retaliation against Bradley Manning,' said Jeff Paterson, . one of the group's lead organizers.
with providing WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands of classified documents, has offered a partial guilty plea in a bid to avoid prosecution military prosecutors could still try to prove include aiding the enemy, punishable by life called Manning 'one of the world's foremost political prisoners.' Wikileaks founder Julian is charged with knowingly aiding al-Qaeda in the