A military officer overseeing the hearing of the US Army analyst accused of leaking government secrets has rejected a request to recuse himself.

The request was made by a defense lawyer for Private Bradley Manning as he appeared at a military court.

He faces 22 charges of obtaining and distributing government secrets — which he allegedly leaked to anti-secrecy site Wikileaks.

The Article 32 hearing will determine whether Private Manning is to stand trial.

Reporter Arun Rath is following the hearing for PBS Frontline and The World.