Court-martial recommended for Pfc. Manning

FORT MEADE, Md., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. military officer recommended that Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of leaking secret government documents to WikiLeaks, be bound over for court-martial.

Lt. Col. Paul Almanza, who presided over an evidentiary hearing at Fort Meade, Md., determined Thursday there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Manning committed the crimes he faces, including aiding the enemy, theft of public records and computer fraud, The New York Times reported.

Almanza's recommendation goes to a convening authority of military officers, who can either dismiss the charges or allow them to proceed to court-martial, The Washington Post said.

During the preliminary hearing last month, prosecutors offered evidence they said tied Manning to the security breach, including chat logs between him and Julian Assange, co-founder of the whistle-blowing Web site.

Manning could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

He is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, including State Department cables, field reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee assessments and a 2007 Army video of an Apache helicopter shooting at civilians.