Pfc. Bradley Manning, who orchestrated the largest leak of classified information in U.S. history, has apologized for hurting the U.S. when he took the stand during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
He reportedly told the court: "The last few years have been a learning experience," adding that he should have worked more "inside the system."
The way he passed 700,000 military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks without first working to change what he saw as government abuse from the inside led former senior U.S. intelligence analyst Joshua Foust to describe his leak as "lazy."
Last month the 25-year-old was charged with 19 counts, including seven counts of violating the espionage act, for leaking the documentsto"spark a domestic debate on the role of our military and foreign policy in general."
The documents included videos of airstrikes that killed civilians, a trove of front-line incident reports from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, dossiers on Guantánamo Bay detainees, and about 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables.
The disclosures led to some troubling revelations about U.S. actions, and journalists subsequently wrote stories based on the information.
In all, Manning faces a maximum sentence of 90 years in prison, but his actual sentence will likely be shorter given the judge's discretion as well as time taken off for harsh pretrial confinement.
In June his defense attorney David Coombs described Manning as a ‘‘young, naive, but good-intentioned’’ soldier whose struggle to fit in as a gay man in the military made him feel he ‘‘needed to do something to make a difference in this world.’’
Here's Manning's full statement (via The Guardian):
"First, your honour, I want to start off with an apology. I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I'm sorry I hurt the United States.
At the time of my decisions, as you know, I was dealing with a lot of issues, issues that are ongoing and continuing to effect me. Although a considerable difficulty in my life, these issues are not an excuse for my actions.
I understood what I was doing, and decisions I made. However, I did not fully appreciate the broader effects of my actions.
Those factors are clear to me now, through both self-refection during my confinement in various forms, and through the merits and sentencing testimony that I have seen here.
I am sorry for the unintended consequences of my actions. When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people.
The last few years have been a learning experience. I look back at my decisions and wonder how on earth could I, a junior analyst, possibly believe I could change the world for the better […] on decisions of those with the proper authority.
In retrospect I should have worked more aggressively inside the system, as we discussed during the […] statement, I had options and I should have used these options.
Unfortunately, I can't go back and change things. I can only go forward. I want to go forward. Before I can do that, I understand that I must pay a price for my decisions and actions.
Once I pay that price, I hope to one day live in a manner that I haven't been able to in the past. I want to be a better person, to go to college, to get a degree and to have a meaningful relationship with my sister, with my sister's family, and my family.
I want to be a positive influence in their lives, just as my Aunt Deborah has been to me. I have flaws and issues that I have to deal with, but I know that I can and will be a better person.
I hope that you can give me the opportunity to prove, not through words, but through conduct, that I am a good person and that I can return to a productive place in society. Thank you, Your Honor."
SEE ALSO: Bradley Manning Acquitted Of 'Aiding The Enemy,' Convicted Of 19 Counts Including Espionage