<p>A champion of liberal and left-wing causes, Moore told The Associated Press in a telephone interview he also hopes to make the public understand that Pfc. Bradley Manning exposed what Moore called "war crimes."<br /><br />"He did a courageous thing and he did a patriotic thing," Moore said.<br /><br />Manning, 22, faces up to 52 years in prison if convicted of downloading classified material and passing it to an unauthorised person while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.<br /><br />He is charged with leaking video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter attack that killed 11, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. WikiLeaks posted the video on its website in April.<br /><br />Investigators say Manning also is a person of interest in the release of 77,000 Afghanistan war logs that WikiLeaks published online in July.<br /><br />US officials say the July disclosures endangered innocent people or confidential informants.<br />Mike Gogulski, founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said he was delighted with Moore's support. The group is raising money for a civilian defence attorney for Manning.<br /><br />Maj Thomas F Hurley, one of Manning's military lawyers, declined to comment. Moore won the Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, "Bowling for Columbine."</p>
<p>A champion of liberal and left-wing causes, Moore told The Associated Press in a telephone interview he also hopes to make the public understand that Pfc. Bradley Manning exposed what Moore called "war crimes."<br /><br />"He did a courageous thing and he did a patriotic thing," Moore said.<br /><br />Manning, 22, faces up to 52 years in prison if convicted of downloading classified material and passing it to an unauthorised person while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.<br /><br />He is charged with leaking video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter attack that killed 11, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. WikiLeaks posted the video on its website in April.<br /><br />Investigators say Manning also is a person of interest in the release of 77,000 Afghanistan war logs that WikiLeaks published online in July.<br /><br />US officials say the July disclosures endangered innocent people or confidential informants.<br />Mike Gogulski, founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said he was delighted with Moore's support. The group is raising money for a civilian defence attorney for Manning.<br /><br />Maj Thomas F Hurley, one of Manning's military lawyers, declined to comment. Moore won the Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, "Bowling for Columbine."</p>