Wired publishes Manning chat logs in full

Wired has published in full the chat logs it received of conversations between accused whistleblower Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, who turned him in. [Threat Level]


An excerpt:

(10:20:53 AM) bradass87: yes… questioned my gender for several years… sexual orientation was easy to figure out… but i started to come to terms with it during the first few months of my deployment


(10:21:09 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: May I ask the particulars?


(10:21:34 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: I'm bi myself, and my ex is MTF.


(10:21:34 AM) bradass87: im fairly open… but careful, so yes..


(10:22:00 AM) bradass87: im aware of your bi part


(10:22:24 AM) bradass87: uhm, trying to keep a low profile for now though, just a warning


(10:23:34 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: I'm a journalist and a minister. You can pick either, and treat this as a confession or an interview (never to be published) & enjoy a modicum of legal protection.


I find it hard to accept that the last line there was "sensitive personal information with no bearing on WikiLeaks, [that] would serve no purpose to publish." It reads like a deliberated attempt to manipulate or even entrap Manning, on Lamo's part, and seems quite important to understanding what Manning thought he was doing by talking to him.


Here is a remarkable exchange between Manning and Lamo, talking about Wikileaks chief Julian Assange:


bradass87: assange offered me a position at wl… but im not interested right now… too much excess baggage…
(07:33:22 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: hey
(07:33:56 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: tell him i'll do opsec for 'em
(07:34:03 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: is he gay?
(07:34:11 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: *random*
(07:34:18 AM) bradass87: are you talking to the right person?
(07:34:23 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: yeah
(07:34:36 AM) bradass87: white haired crazy dude?
(07:34:38 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: continuing convo where it dropped
(07:34:43 AM) info@adrianlamo.com: yeah
(07:34:49 AM) bradass87: ah… no…
(07:34:52 AM) bradass87: very str8
(07:35:47 AM) bradass87: had a camera smuggled via rectum once… he commented that he's "definitely not gay"
(07:37:44 AM) bradass87: [long story]