Ex-Hacker Testifies in Manning Trial

The guy who ultimately turned him in to authorities

FORT MEADE, Md. — Adrian Lamo, the former computer hacker who reported Pfc. Bradley Manning to military authorities in May 2010 after Private Manning confided that he had provided vast archives of secret government documents to WikiLeaks, testified at Private Manning's court-martial on Tuesday that he saw parallels between his own youthful hacking offenses and those of the young Army intelligence analyst.

Mr. Lamo, who testified for about 33 minutes, has been a polarizing figure in the WikiLeaks saga. He is despised by many of Private Manning's supporters for betraying the trust of a person they see as an important whistle-blower; Mr. Lamo has maintained that turning Private Manning in was the socially responsible thing to do because Private Manning's wholesale leaking recklessly endangered others.

Mr. Lamo, who wore black clothing and sported a light beard, recounted how Private Manning had sent him an encrypted e-mail from his personal Google e-mail account, and later contacted him via an online chat service around May 20, 2010. The two later connected on Facebook as well, but did not meet in person.