The conduct of the trial has an immediate significance for Assange in what it signifies about his own fate, but it is more important in what it reveals for the future of the US Government's ability to control transparency in national security.
The factual basis for Manning's conviction strengthens the case for indicting Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act.
The US Government must show he gathered, transmitted or received classified defence information, and that he did so with the intent or reason to believe that it could damage national security.
The prosecutor reinforced these elements by repeatedly suggesting that Assange coached Manning to provide leaked documents for the purpose of hampering US national defence.
The basis for prosecution was made clear in a 2010 State Department letter warning that publishing leaked documents endangered lives, US military operations and foreign relations. This makes it harder for Assange to deny the requisite element of intent.
Assange will evade extradition for as long as he remains in diplomatic limbo in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid sexual assault charges in Sweden.
But he can be confident there is an arguable legal case and strong political will to hold him accountable for his actions in a US court.
The US Government's determination behind these prosecutions, and that of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, raises the more fundamental question of what principles should guide the treatment of these men under US law.
President Barack Obama is repeatedly criticised by Assange and others for a "war on whistleblowers", and strong and continuing campaigns seek to free Manning. This is fundamentally a political question about what policy best promotes robust democratic government.
Assange clearly believes his own activism promotes the interests of democracy and political freedom. To this end, he started his Australian political party to achieve "accountability", rather than to govern.
Yet, Assange's logic lays bare the threat posed to democracy when individuals usurp the prerogative of elected governments to determine both political processes and matters of national security.
The danger in the actions of Assange, Manning and Snowden is that they are each operating from within institutions established in a democratic society. But they have made unilateral decisions about the most fundamental matters of government, without any of the obligations and democratic controls that come with legitimate political authority.
There is a real debate to be had about the balance between freedom of information and classified operations.
Former assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley, who resigned over his criticism of inhumane conditions of Manning's imprisonment, nevertheless emphasised that "finding the right balance among security, secrecy, transparency and privacy remains a work in progress".
The assumption underlying Assange's mission is that hard balancing acts can be avoided, and instead governments should be stripped of the capacity to make judgments about when it is necessary to engage in covert acts.
But for citizens to enjoy the umbrella of an effective national security system, the government must take some actions outside of direct public scrutiny.
The US Government may have struck the wrong balance in domestic surveillance programmes revealed by Snowden, but it was clear that the electorate demanded a greater sense of security after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Political freedoms exist within a security framework forged by difficult decisions about where the power of the state will most effectively empower individuals.
The answer for citizens wanting to debate that balance is to fully engage in the democratic process, not only when that involves popular campaigns to support martyrs to high ideals, but also when it involves hard and sometimes ugly decisions about proper limits of free expression.
Assange's statement on the Manning verdict asserted that the leaking of documents created no victim other than "the US government's wounded pride".
But the real victim may very well become freedoms and security enjoyed by the many.
• Malcolm Jorgensen is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the University of Sydney.
- The Conversation
