POLITICS: WikiLeaks Gives $15K for Bradley Manning's Defense!

Bradley Manning may go to prison for a long, long time if he's found guilty of spilling military secrets—and it probably won't be a pleasant stay—but at least he's still got WikiLeaks in his corner. Kind of. The site today pledged $15,100 for his defense, which, as Wired points out, is not only far short of the $50,000 it promised months ago but comes after it paid salaries to employees such as Julian Assange ($88,000).

Still, the Bradley Manning Support Network—which expressed frustration last month about WikiLeaks' lack of follow-through—praised today's donation and said it brought the total collected so far to $100,000. That's still shy of the $115,000 needed for defense fees and to pay David Coombs, the attorney who's agreed to represent Manning for a flat fee.