Bradley Manning pre-trial hearing opens amid tight security

[struggle4progress]

4. Manning Hearing Halted as Investigator Considers Recusal Request

... Colonel Paul Almanza said he did not believe he was biased because he does not currently supervise criminal cases in his job at the Justice Department and his work involves child abuse and obscenity, not national security. But he noted that military rules require him to recuse himself if a “reasonable person” might perceive bias, and he broke off the hearing at midday to consider the matter, with a decision possible Friday afternoon ...

If Colonel Almanza declines to recuse himself, Mr. Coombs said he would seek a stay of the hearing while the recusal question is appealed to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. If the case proceeds to court-martial, the military judge appointed to oversee the trial could consider the defense claim of bias and send the case back for a new hearing ...

“This is one of the most interesting military cases of the last 20 years,” said Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale. Mr. Fidell said the case comes at the intersection of advancing technology, making it possible to lay bare a truckload of secrets on the Web with the click of a mouse, and the culture of the Facebook era in which nothing stays secret for long ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/us/bradley-manning-accused-of-aiding-wikileaks-will-appear-in-military-court.html?_r=1