[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.
[00:08.83]This week, a U.S. military judge
[00:12.68]ruled in the case of Army Private Bradley Manning.
[00:17.01]The soldier was found guilty of espionage
[00:22.04]for providing secrets
[00:23.33]to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
[00:27.21]The court also found him guilty of
[00:30.80]several other charges.
[00:32.93]The punishment for these crimes
[00:35.28]could add up to more than 100 years in prison.
[00:39.59]The Oklahoma native was found
[00:42.64]not guilty of aiding the enemy.
[00:45.62]That charge could have resulted in a life prison sentence.
[00:50.70]Manning had admitted to what is called
[00:54.39]the largest leak of secret U.S. documents in history.
[00:59.66]The documents included secret diplomatic messages
[01:04.72]and military reports
[01:06.85]about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[01:10.89]The case was tried at Fort Meade, Maryland,
[01:15.42]close to the grounds of the National Security Agency.
[01:19.73]That is where intelligence contractor
[01:23.54]Edward Snowden once worked.
[01:26.17]He recently leaked secret documents
[01:29.87]on government efforts to collect information
[01:33.47]about American citizens.
[01:35.71]On Wednesday, members of Congress
[01:39.54]met with intelligence and law enforcement officials.
[01:44.43]The officials said
[01:46.24]the U.S. government's information gathering
[01:49.84]does not violate the privacy of citizens.
[01:53.80]And they said these activities
[01:57.04]help to identify and defeat terrorist threats.
[02:01.74]The officials spoke after the Obama administration
[02:06.65]released documents
[02:08.64]that described the government's telephone data collection programs.
[02:14.18]Patrick Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
[02:19.33]"The patience of the American people is beginning to wear thin.
[02:23.33]But what has to be of more concern
[02:25.85]in a democracy is, the trust of the American people is wearing thin."
[02:30.46]On Wednesday, the administration released
[02:33.15]what once were secret documents
[02:35.80]about the government's collection of telephone records.
[02:39.64]Deputy Attorney General James Cole
[02:43.39]spoke to the Senate committee.
[02:45.74]"These are telephone records maintained by the phone companies.
[02:49.59]They include the number the call was dialed from,
[02:53.07]the number the call was dialed to,
[02:55.11]the date and time of the call and the length of the call.
[02:58.51]The records do not include the names
[03:01.53]or other personal identifying information.
[03:03.91]They do not include cell site or other location information,
[03:08.26]and they do not include the content of any phone calls."
[03:12.36]The government must have special court approval
[03:16.31]to get names or addresses linked to phone numbers.
[03:20.65]It also needs a court order to listen to phone calls.
[03:25.58]Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
[03:29.10]questioned the lack of voluntary public disclosure by the government.
[03:34.91]"We have a lot of good information
[03:36.89]out there that helps the American public understand these programs.
[03:39.87]But it all came out late.
[03:43.71]It all came out in response to a leaker [Edward Snowden].
[03:46.40]There was no organized plan for
[03:49.33]how we rationally declassify this,
[03:52.45]so that the American people can participate in the debate."
[03:55.23]The American Civil Liberties Union,
[03:57.81]an organization that supports individual rights,
[04:01.34]has criticized the government
[04:03.85]for collecting so much information.
[04:06.93]The group says this will change the way people act
[04:12.15]and prevent them from enjoying their freedoms
[04:15.94]under the U.S. Constitution.
[04:18.42]The top lawyer
[04:20.46]for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,
[04:24.13]Robert Litt, told lawmakers he disagrees.
[04:28.07]"Collection of this kind of telephone metadata
[04:30.92]from the telephone companies is not a violation
[04:33.19]of anyone's constitutional rights."
[04:34.72]Mr. Litt told the Senate committee that
[04:37.59]public disclosure of the programs
[04:40.02]has damaged the government's ability to protect the nation.
[04:44.97]And that's In the News from VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.