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MR. JOHNSON: My name is Jeh Johnson. I am the general counsel of the Department of Defense. We are here today to provide an update on the status of Army Private First Class Bradley Manning.
The Army is transferring Private Manning from the pre-trial confinement facility at Quantico to the new Joint Regional Correctional Facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. With me to answer questions about this matter are the Under Secretary of the Army, Joe Westphal, and Lieutenant Colonel Dawn Hilton, who is the commander of the Fort Leavenworth facility.
Before we take your questions, I want to spend a moment to explain the circumstances. At the request of Private Manning's defense counsel, an assessment is under way to determine whether Private Manning is mentally competent in this case in the event it goes to trial. On Saturday, April 9, the inquiry phase of that process, known in military justice terms as a 706 board, was completed, and Private Manning's presence in the Washington, D.C. area is no longer necessary for that purpose.
However, we are told that the medical opinion concerning Private Manning's competence to stand trial may take additional time. At this juncture of the case, we have decided that the new joint-regional correctional facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is the most appropriate facility for Private Manning for continued pre-trial detention.
Army Corrections Command has reviewed the new facility and determined that it has the expertise and capability to provide continued long-term pre-trial confinement for Private Manning. The facility, which opened in October and opened a pre-trial confinement capability in January, is a state-of-the-art complex with the best and widest range of support services available to pre-trial prisoners within the Department of Defense corrections system, to include resident medical and mental-health care staff.
This facility is appropriate to meet Private Manning's health and welfare needs, given the possibility that he will remain in pre-trial confinement for an additional time during the 706 board process and the likelihood that the pre-trial phase of the case may continue for months beyond that. Colonel Hilton will be happy to answer questions about the facility. And I believe you have a fact sheet that provides some additional detail.
Within appropriate limits that must be established by the command of the facility, the Army will make the pre-trial facility at Fort Leavenworth available to a tour by a limited number of the press. It is also the case, like it was at Quantico, that Private Manning may receive a limited number of outside visitors, provided that Private Manning himself, as well as the command agrees that he can see them.
Private Manning will return to the Washington, D.C. area as needed for legal proceedings, as his case remains under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army's military district of Washington.
It is important to remember that while Private Manning is charged with very serious offenses involving classified information and national security, in our system of military justice, as in our system of civilian justice in this country, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Pre-trial confinement, however, is common to both systems and has been determined to be appropriate in this case.
One final note. Many will be tempted to interpret today's action as a criticism of the pre-trial facility at Quantico. That is not the case. We remain satisfied that Private Manning's pre-trial confinement at Quantico was in compliance with legal and regulatory standards in all respects, and we salute the military personnel there for the job they did in difficult circumstances.
At this juncture of the case, given the likely continued period of pre-trial confinement, we have determined that the new pre-trial facility at Fort Leavenworth is the most appropriate one for Private Manning going forward.
We're now happy to answer your questions. Yes, ma'am.
Q: Sir, you said that there could be criticism or that there could be interpretations that this -- the pre-trial confinement was inappropriate, but that everything was followed by the letter of the law. At any point, do you think -- in your judgment, do you think that Private Manning, there was bad judgment used in the way that he was treated at Quantico; despite the fact whether it was by the letter of the law, that people who were running the facility at Quantico used bad judgment in the way he was treated?
MR. JOHNSON: No, I do not believe that.
I also know that I am the lawyer for the Department of Defense. I am not a corrections expert, and so I hesitate to second guess any of the judgments made by the personnel there in dealing with this particular confinee.
Q: Colonel Hilton, could I -- could I ask you if -- I mean, what is your assessment based on what you've --
LT. COL. HILTON: I don't know the specific details of Pfc. Manning's confinement. But what I do -- what I can tell you is that when he's transported to the Joint Regional Correctional Facility, he will receive -- will receive support from an experienced, trained professional staff that have been doing this for well over 20 years, and he'll receive the mental health, physical health and emotional health that he needs to go through this judicial process.
Q: When will he be transferred?
MR. JOHNSON: It's imminent. We don't normally provide precise details of the timing of such things, but it's imminent in the short term.
Q: This week?
LT. COL. HILTON: As a matter of policy, we don't discuss escort details. Though we don't discuss the details, we do this on a routine basis. This is what we do on a daily basis. When we perform these missions, they are very similar to the way the U.S. Marshals perform escorts, as well as other state and federal agencies. So this is what we do on a daily basis, and it will be formed --
MR. JOHNSON: I think you can assume that we would not be announcing this this far -- very far in advance.
Q: Wait, since this is -- I mean, this is pretty unusual to have a press conference late in the day announcing that you're moving a prisoner. Will you make an announcement when he's actually been checked in or whatever the term is that -- (inaudible)?
MR. JOHNSON: We don't have a plan to do that at the moment. I suspect that you all will become aware of that at the point at which he arrives at Leavenworth.
Q: When did it become apparent that Manning needed some special level of care that he wasn't getting at Quantico, and who made that recommendation or that decision?
MR. JOHNSON: Well, I wouldn't characterize it that way.
We've been thinking about this for a while. We began to take a fairly comprehensive look at Quantico as well as other facilities that have pre-trial confinement capability, and we concluded, after spending a couple of weeks on this, that at this juncture of the case, now that the 706 inquiry process is over -- and the interview of him as part of that process took place Saturday before last -- and given the fact that he's been in pre-trial confinement for I think about 10 months now, and Quantico is a facility that normally does not have pre-trial confinees for that length of time, and then when you look forward at the likely time before this case goes to trial, if it goes to trial, the combination of those plus the facility at Leavenworth, a new facility which has a pre-trial confinee capability that opened in January, led us to the conclusion at this juncture of the case it was -- it was a good thing to transfer him even though the case is going to stay in Washington.
STAFF: Secretary Westphal may have something to add to that.
MR. WESTPHAL: Well, I would just say that, you know, our responsibility -- you know, Private Manning is a -- is a soldier, and our responsibility as an Army is not only to adjudicate his case, but also to take care of him while he is in pre-trial confinement.
As the counsel mentioned, this particular facility -- there are two Army facilities at Leavenworth. One is the old barracks, which is for individuals after trial. This i |
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Name(s:) |
Jeh Johnson, Dawn Hilton |
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Title: |
General Counsel, Commander of the Joint Regional Correctional Factiliy at Fort Leavenworth Kansas |
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Agency(ies): |
Department of Defense |
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Concerning: |
United States v. Pfc. Bradley Manning, Unlawful Pretrial Confinement, Article 13 |
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Url: |
Url Link
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Archive: |
Archive Link
http://archive.is/C1Qr7 |
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Title: |
Joint Regional Correctional Facility Fact Sheet |
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Authoring or Creator Agency: |
Joint Regional Correctional Facility, Fort Leavenworth Kansas, Departmnet of Defense |
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Concerning: |
"United States v. Pfc. Bradley Manning, Unlawful Pretrial Confinement, Article 13 |
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Title: |
WikiLeaks soldier being moved to Fort Leavenworth. Pentagon Press briefing (FULL VERSION) |
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Author: |
3rdID8487 |
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Concerning: |
"United States v. Pfc. Bradley Manning, Unlawful Pretrial Confinement, Article 13 |
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Title: |
Army to Transfer Manning to Leavenworth |
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Author: |
Donna Miles |
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Authoring or Creator Agency: |
American Forces Press Service, Department of Defense |
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Concerning: |
"United States v. Pfc. Bradley Manning, Unlawful Pretrial Confinement, Article 13 |
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Archive Link |
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