Defense Closing Argument: Bradley Manning a Whistleblower, Not a Traitor

Trial coming to an end

The U.S. soldier accused of the biggest leak of classified information in the nation's history "is a whistleblower" and not a traitor as the government claims, Bradley Manning's defense lawyer said at his court-martial on Friday.

Army Private First Class Manning spilled secrets to the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website because he wanted to provoke a broader debate on U.S. military and diplomatic policy out of concern for fellow Americans, the defense argued.