LLR - the character limit in QL meant I actually didn't say even half of what I intended to. I'll try again.
In US law when you "leak" information, you have committed a crime. But when you leak information about wrongdoing, illegal behavior or misconduct, you are typically viewed, in the eyes of the law, as a "whistleblower". Specific laws are in place to try to protect whistleblowers. A large part of the moral judgment being made about Manning hinges on whether he is viewed as a leaker (a criminal, a traitor etc) or a whistleblower (a patriot, a hero). I do believe what he did was with the best intentions, but poorly handled. There were probably better ways to do what he did.