Manning’s top lawyer in WikiLeaks case defended Muslim soldier facing execution for murders

Manning chooses civilian lawyer in WikiLeaks case

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — An Army private suspected of giving classified material to WikiLeaks has chosen a civilian attorney to lead his defense team.

The Army says former military attorney David Coombs, of Providence, R.I., will represent Pfc. Bradley Manning against charges he leaked video of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack that killed a Reuters news photographer and his driver. WikiLeaks posted the video on its website in April.

Investigators say the 22-year-old intelligence analyst also is a person of interest in the leak of nearly 77,000 Afghan war records WikiLeaks published online in July.

Coombs is best known for defending Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar, charged in a deadly 2003 attack on fellow U.S. military members in Kuwait. Akbar is awaiting execution for murdering two officers.