Julian Assange: Manning Verdict a 'Dangerous Precedent'

Julian Assange called Bradley Manning the "quintessential whistleblower" and lambasted the Obama administration for "chipping away democratic freedoms" in a personal statementreleased shortly after Manning was found guilty on five counts of espionage in a military court on Tuesday.

Manning, who confessed to leaking a bounty of classified information about Afghanistan and Iraq, was acquitted of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the 21 counts he faced. However, Assange said the espionage conviction is the more troublesome issue, going so far as to call it "dangerous:"

This is the first ever espionage conviction against a whistleblower. It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism. It is a short sighted judgment that cannot be tolerated and must be reversed. It can never be that conveying true information to the public is ’espionage.’

SEE ALSO: Manning Acquitted of Aiding the Enemy, Guilty of Espionage

Assange criticized President Obama for backpedaling on praises of government watchdogs that he made during his first presidential campaign. He also pointed out that the president "has initiated more espionage proceedings against whistleblowers and publishers than all previous presidents combined."

In 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama ran on a platform that praised whistleblowing as an act of courage and patriotism. That platform has been comprehensively betrayed. His campaign document described whistleblowers as watchdogs when government abuses its authority. It was removed from the internet last week.

Manning pleaded guilty to 10 charges of which he was accused, including leaking "Collateral Murder," the video that launched WikiLeaks to a worldwide stage. Throughout the trial, the prosecution painted Manning as a malicious turncoat who fed Assange sensitive information with full knowledge that it could eventually end up in enemy hands.

However, David E. Coombs, the defense's lead lawyer, presented Manning as a kid who intended no harm and was simply an idealist whistleblower — the same notion that Assange echoed in his statement.

Assange also argued that there was "no victim" in the Manning trial, saying the prosecution never presented evidence that Manning's information resulted in harm to human life.

The only ’victim’ was the U.S. government’s wounded pride, but the abuse of this fine young man was never the way to restore it. Rather, the abuse of Bradley Manning has left the world with a sense of disgust at how low the Obama administration has fallen. It is not a sign of strength, but of weakness.

Manning's sentencing hearing begins Wednesday. He faces up to 136 years in prison. On the eve of Tuesday's sentencing, Assange told CNN's Jake Tapper that Manning was a "hero."

Meanwhile, Manning's family released a brief statement Tuesday afternoon, reiterating that Manning "loves his country" and his actions were not ill-natured:

While we are obviously disappointed in today’s verdicts, we are happy that Judge Lind agreed with us that Brad never intended to help America’s enemies in any way. Brad loves his country and was proud to wear its uniform.

We want to express our deep thanks to David Coombs, who has dedicated three years of his life to serving as lead counsel in Brad’s case. We also want to thank Brad’s Army defense team, Major Thomas Hurley and Captain Joshua Tooman, for their tireless efforts on Brad’s behalf, and Brad’s first defense counsel, Captain Paul Bouchard, who was so helpful to all of us in those early confusing days and first suggested David Coombs as Brad’s counsel. Most of all, we would like to thank the thousands of people who rallied to Brad’s cause, providing financial and emotional support throughout this long and difficult time, especially Jeff Paterson and Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network. Their support has allowed a young Army private to defend himself against the full might of not only the U.S. Army but also the U.S. Government.