Defense lawyers for US soldier Bradley Manning, charged with feeding US diplomatic and military secrets to WikiLeaks, took the offensive at the first hearing in the case on Friday, accusing the presiding officer of bias and seeking his dismissal.
Manning's civilian defense lawyer, David Coombs, called for the investigating officer, Paul Almanza, a lieutenant colonel in the US Army reserves, to recuse himself from the case as the pre-trial hearing opened.
"The defense is filing a motion for you to recuse yourself," Coombs said in an early indication he plans to mount an aggressive defense of the US Army private.
The hearing is being held to determine whether Manning, who was arrested in Iraq more than 18 months ago, should face a court-martial -- a determination to be made by the presiding officer.
Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst, is suspected of downloading 260,000 US diplomatic cables, videos of US air strikes and US military reports from Afghanistan and Iraq and providing them to secret-spilling site WikiLeaks.
Manning, who turns 24 years old on Saturday, faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge -- aiding the enemy.
Dressed in a green camouflage uniform and wearing thick black glasses, Manning appeared calm as he sat at the defense table, fiddling with a pen, jotting down notes and chatting with his civilian and military attorneys.
Coombs questioned whether Almanza, who is on leave from his job as a Justice Department attorney, could be impartial while the department is seeking to bring a case against WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.
Almanza, however, said he was not involved in any Justice Department probe of WikiLeaks or Manning and rejected the recusal request after consulting his legal adviser and stating that he could act impartially.
Coombs said he would appeal the decision by Almanza to remain on the case to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
A US Army legal expert attending the hearing said the court could rule on the appeal as early as Saturday, when the hearing is set to reconvene, but it would continue regardless.
In pressing his case for dismissal, Coombs said Almanza had rejected most of the witnesses requested by the defense -- a list which had included President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former defense secretary Robert Gates -- and that was evidence of bias.
"An individual looking at this from the outside, a reasonable person, would say clearly this is biased," he said.
The defense lawyer also said Almanza had unfairly turned down a defense request that portions of the hearing that could potentially "taint" Manning be closed to the public and media.
The pre-trial hearing is being held in a courthouse at heavily-guarded Fort Meade, headquarters of the top secret National Security Agency, and is being attended by dozens of members of the public and media from around the world.
Manning spoke several times during the hearing, crisply answering "Yes, sir" when asked whether by the presiding officer whether he understood the charges, was aware of his rights and whether he was satisfied with his defense counsel.
Anti-war activists see Manning as a hero and his supporters, including Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, are holding vigils and rallies outside the gates of Fort Meade during the hearing.
In instant message chats with Adrian Lamo, the former computer hacker who turned him over to the US authorities, Manning expressed hope that the material he released would trigger "worldwide discussion, debates and reforms."
"I want people to see the truth, regardless of who they are, because without information you cannot make informed decisions as a public," Manning said in the chat logs obtained and published by Wired.com.
Assange, under house arrest in Britain awaiting potential extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges, has denied knowing the source of the leaks, but has said Manning is a victim of US government mistreatment and has raised funds for his defense.
On Friday, Assange was granted permission to appeal his extradition and a hearing will start on February 1.
The Manning hearing resumes at 10:00 am (1500 GMT) on Saturday.
