Frequently throughout the long and drawn out process that has become the court martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning, reporters covering proceedings have complained or expressed frustration about the lack of access to court records. But, finally, the military has decided to allow a smidgen of transparency in the court martial to possibly avoid a major First Amendment ruling in a military appeals court that could find the United States military should be granting the press and public access to court martial records in the same way the press and public have access to federal court records.

The judge announced during a motion hearing in the case of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, that the trial is tentatively scheduled for February 4 through March 15. The judge also read off dates for upcoming motion hearings, which were accompanied by a description of matters that would be dealt with at each hearing.

I appeared on RT America to discuss this week’s proceedings and what lies ahead for Manning.