Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Wednesday, June 5, 2013, after the third day of his court martial.
The Leak: Private Bradley Manning used his security clearance as a low-level military analyst to release three quarters of a million secret documents to the website Wikileaks, the most extensive leak of confidential material in American history. Manning admitted to the charges in court, stating that he wanted to “spark a debate about foreign policy.”
(MORE: Bradley Manning and our real secrecy problem.)
The Outcome: For nine months Manning was confined, sometimes without clothing, to a windowless cell at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. for 23 hours a day. Manning went to trial last Monday. He faces 21 counts, including, “aiding the enemy,” which carries a potential life sentence.