Manning Apologizes In Court, Says Actions Hurt U.S.

U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning arrives for his court-martial at Fort Meade, Maryland, on June 4.

U.S. Army soldier Bradley Manning has apologized for handing over secret U.S. military and diplomatic documents to the WikiLeaks website, in what was the biggest leak of classified data in American history

The private first class said at the sentencing phase of his court-martial on August 14 that his leaks "hurt the United States."

Manning, 25, told the court at Fort Meade, Maryland, that he was now ready to face punishment.

Manning could be sentenced to 90 years in prison for providing hundreds of thousands of classified documents and other materials to WikiLeaks.

Earlier on August 14, an army psychologist told the court that Manning faced extra stress because he had questions about his male gender identity.

Manning leaked the material while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP