Trial on the case of U.S. army private Bradley Manning resumed on Tuesday with convicted hacker Adrian Lamo taking the witness stand before a military court.

Mr Lamo, the one who tipped and turned in Mr Manning to authorities in 2010, echoed the argument of the defence that the 25-year-old accused was just a distressed soul whose only desire was to get the truth out and not to help enemies of the U.S.

Mr Manning is being accused by U.S. military officials of funnelling a vast cache of secret files to the whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks, and thus providing aid to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda group.

Mr Lamo said that in his previous communication with the accused prior his arrest, the young soldier never mentioned anything about helping the Al Qaeda.

The witness was asked if Mr Manning ever spoke "against the United States" or whether "he wanted to help the enemy", and Mr Lamo said, "Not in those words, no."

In Monday's trial, Mr Manning owned up to 10 of the charges filed against him but denied the most serious accusation which involved the terror group.

During the defence's cross examination, Mr Lamo said the accused was in an emotional crisis caused not only by his experiences in Iraq but also by some sexual identity struggles. This, according to Mr Lamo, has brought him fears for the young soldier's life, and consequently pushed him to turn in Mr Manning to police authorities.

Before Mr Manning's arrest in 2010, Mr Lamo was in communication with him from May 20 to May 26, 2010.

Mr Lamo, however, said that the subject of aiding U.S. enemies was never brought up in his conversations with the accused.

He said that Mr Manning simply acted out of a sense of moral and civic obligation when he opted to spill a vast amount of classified information.

"He told you about his life, that he was struggling because of his gender identity issue? He told you he made a huge mess? He was emotionally fractured?" defence lawyer David Coombs consecutively asked Mr Lamo.

The lawyer also asked if Mr Manning ever hinted at needing "moral and emotional support," and that if he didn't get it might lead to the soldier taking his own life.

The hacker testified that the accused did express an intention to kill himself over government brutality in Iraq.

"A broken soul?...Honestly scared?" Mr Coombs asked.

Mr Lamo, who was once convicted for hacking the computer systems of the New York Times and Microsoft, suspected that the reason why Mr Manning contacted him was perhaps because of his reputation as a computer hacker and his known support for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Defense League.

The U.S. government has adamantly characterised the leaks as an overt act of treason that essentially endangered lives and national security.

Mr Lamo, however, pointed out that Mr Manning had no intention of selling the information to other perceived enemies like Russia or China. He said the accused just believed that the public deserved access to such information.

The witness also confirmed Mr Manning's admission that the latter had contacted Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks.

Mr Assange , who is now facing sexual assault charges and is in London avoiding extradition to Sweden, labelled the hearing as "a show of wasteful vengeance; a theatrical warning to people of conscience."

"This is not justice; never could this be justice. The verdict was ordained long ago," he posted on WikiLeaks.

Mr Manning's trial is expected to last 12 weeks. He is being tried at a military base outside Washington, DC and not through a jury per his request.