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Obama commutes much of Chelsea Manning's sentence
© Elijah
Nouvelage / Reuters
RT,
17
January, 2017
President
Barack Obama has shortened the prison sentence of former Army private
and whistleblower Chelsea Manning, She will be released on May 17,
instead of remaining in military custody until 2045 as originally
sentenced.
Manning
had leaked to WikiLeaks thousands of US government documents that
came to be known as the Iraq War Logs and the Afghan War Diary. She
was convicted by a US Army Court Martial to 35 years' imprisonment
prison in August 2013, under the Espionage Act.
Charlie Savage
BREAKING: Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence for leaking to WikiLeaks. She will be freed on May 17.
Glenn Greenwald
Formerly
known as Bradley Manning, the whistleblower requested the military
provide her sexual reassignment surgery to align with her gender
dysphoria, identifying as a woman. The Department of Defense
initially rejected that request, only to eventually signal approval.
With Manning's impending release, that issue is now moot.
ABC News
BREAKING: Pres. Obama commutes vast majority of Chelsea Manning's 35-year sentence, White House says; sentence to end May 17, 2017.
“I’m
relieved and thankful that the president is doing the right thing and
commuting Chelsea Manning’s sentence,” Chase
Strangio, the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT Project staff
attorney representing Manning,said. “Since
she was first taken into custody, Chelsea has been subjected to long
stretches of solitary confinement — including for attempting
suicide — and has been denied access to medically necessary health
care. This move could quite literally save Chelsea’s life, and we
are all better off knowing that Chelsea Manning will walk out of
prison a free woman, dedicated to making the world a better place and
fighting for justice for so many.”
Manning
is one of 273
people "given
a second chance," the
White House announced Tuesday, tallying up Obama's commutation grants
and pardons. The president has so far pardoned 212 individuals and
issued 1,385 grants of commutation.
Manning's
2010 online chat with ex-hacker Adrian Lamo was instrumental in
revealing her as the leaker of tens of thousands of classified
documents and diplomatic cables. Lamo turned Manning in to
authorities after she confided in him.
"[I]
wouldn’t mind going to prison for the rest of my life, or being
executed so much, if it wasn’t for the possibility of having
pictures of me… plastered all over the world press… as
boy…[sic]," Manning
wrote to Lamo.
The
information Manning leaked "might change something," she
hoped.
"I
want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because
without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a
public," she
told Lamo.
Manning commutation could set up Assange extradition to US
WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange. © Neil Hall / Reuters
RT,
17
January, 2017
Now
that President Barack Obama has commuted much of whistleblower
Chelsea Manning’s prison sentence, will Wikileaks founder Julian
Assange follow through on his promise to accept extradition to the
US?
On
Tuesday, Obama announced that he was granting clemency to Manning,
along with 208 other people. The former US Army intelligence analyst
will be freed on May 17, rather than in 2045 as originally intended
by his conviction under the Espionage Act.
Five
days before, Wikileaks tweeted that Assange was willing to make a
deal if Manning was granted clemency.
WikiLeaks
If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case
Assange
has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012. The
Australian has previously fought extradition to Sweden over
accusations of rape, which he denies.
He
has claimed the Swedish effort is a way to have him transferred to
the US, which, as of May 2016, was actively investigating WikiLeaks’
activities.
John Manko
@JustinRaimondo That's the only reason Manning was granted clemency. It's all to get at Assange. Obama is #DeepState & this is a chess move.
Wikileaks has not released a statement in reaction to the announcement by the Obama administration.
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