Reply #19: "can that person receive a fair trial in the US, either military or civilian?"

[MilesColtrane]

That depends on the rules of the trial, who is in charge of running it, and whether the President's statement specifically has prejudiced the jury.

In this case the court-martial has not been convened yet. We don't know who the panel of judges will be.

Logically, the officers who will be presiding over Bradley Manning's court-martial would presume that the President thinks he is guilty, even if he never said it, simply because the President is the commander of the prosecuting authority. (The Army)

However, under revamped Pentagon rules for military tribunals the presiding officers will be under direct orders to presume Manning's innocence.