Espionage means nothing more or less than trying to gain unauthorized access to national security information. There's no requirement you deliver it to an enemy

Espionage means nothing more or less than trying to gain unauthorized access to national security information. There's no requirement you deliver it to an enemy personally (otherwise how would you have charged Soviet spies if you caught them before they delivered the information to the USSR), and it doesn't even matter that you have "good intent" (just ask that Israeli spy who is still in prison despite spying for an 'ally'). Manning's case will be appealed to Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (there might be an Army-specific appeals court before that too, the Navy/Marines have something like that but I'm not sure if Army does). After the CAAF it can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but other than that it's final.