FORT MEADE, Maryland (CNN) -- Lawyers for a U.S. Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking tens of thousands of classified military and State Department documents will ask a military judge Wednesday to drop 10 of the 22 charges against him.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking the documents while serving in Iraq. Many of those documents ended up on the WikiLeaks website.

Among the charges requested to be dropped against Manning are eight specifications of unauthorized transmission under the Espionage Act and two charges of exceeding authorized access, according to a Military District of Washington legal spokesman who is not authorized to use his name.

Manning's defense is asking the judge to drop the eight counts of unauthorized transmission because when the law was created it was not directed at "this kind of conduct," according to the spokesman. Manning's defense team claims the prosecution is using the unauthorized transmission charge in a way that criminalizes speech, according to the spokesman, and that the charges are overbroad and vague.

For the two charges of exceeding authorized access, Manning's defense is claiming that no laws were broken because his job as an intelligence analyst authorized him to access the materials he released, according to the spokesman.

This is not the first time Manning's attorneys have sought to have charges dismissed. A motion saying he was facing duplicate charges for some allegations was rejected in April.

The other charges against Manning include aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet and theft of public property or records.

His trial is set for September 21. If convicted he could face life in prison.

Other pretrail actions expected to be covered Wednesday are two discovery motions regarding questions about whether certain files and reports are under the control of the military, and if there is any information that can be turned over to the defense that can reduce punishment or negate guilt.

Manning has not entered a plea in the case, nor has he decided whether he wants the case to be decided by a jury panel or the judge. He could wait as late as the first day of the trial to decide.