BANNED: Lt. Dan Choi Ejected from Bradley Manning Trial, Thrown Off Base!

Lt. Dan Choi, who was thrown out of the courtroom at the Bradley Manning trial, talks about his view of the proceedings as a "show trial". Olbermann agrees that it is "ridiculous even by military standards".

FireDogLake has a report on Choi's ejection from the trial and the base, during which the rank was ripped from his uniform: Choi, a West Point graduate, went to the Manning trial because “soldiers stand up for integrity, and if the code of ethics and army values are important, then we should support Bradley Manning.” He added that Manning’s actions were not only in the interest of his unit, but also in the interest of the country. “He believed that our country as a whole needed to have integrity. The law of land warfare says that if a soldier sees a crime — a rape or a murder — it’s their responsibility to report it. As I understood it, he brought it up to the chain of command. The chain of command knew about it, and they were the ones who were in violation of the law of land warfare. To not report it is to be complicit. He was the only soldier in the chain of command to do the right thing, so that’s why we have to support him.”

SILENCED: Government to Put Dan Choi on Trial in August!

The government will put Dan Choi on trial in August for chaining himself to the White House last November in protest of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because Choi refuses to accept a plea deal.

Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake was in the courtroom yesterday:

...Today [Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela ]George faced an equally skeptical Judge Alan Kay, who had little patience for George’s assertions that she did not know until today that Choi was refusing the government’s deal, and was thus unprepared to proceed.  At the the previous hearing, George spent considerable time complaining that Choi was not accepting the government’s deal and removing his name from the settlement documents.

Choi is represented by Kurland and Christopher R. Lynn, who came prepared to argue their case today.  Although Judge Kay said repeatedly he thought it would take a half day for the trial, George said she expected it to take two days, as she was prepared to call multiple witnesses.  She also told Choi’s attorneys that there was no way he could have failed to hear the order to disperse issued by the park service “unless he’s hard of hearing.”