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It's no pardon, but it will do:
President Obama has put Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified material, on his short list for a possible commutation, a Justice Department source told NBC News. A decision could come [...] for Manning, who has tried to commit suicide twice this year and went on a hunger strike in a bid for gender reassignment surgery.
"I have more hope right now than I have the entire time since she was sentenced," Manning's aunt, Deborah Manning, told NBC News.
[...] Manning's supporters believe the harshness of the sentence can be traced to another leaker; the scandal around former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was erupting around the same time. "I really believe the judge felt she needed to send some sort of message," the aunt said. "I think in a way she was a scapegoat for Edward Snowden." Snowden, who has asked Obama for clemency, tweeted his support of Manning shortly after NBC News' report about the commutation decision aired on TODAY on Wednesday morning.
Four former and current Army intelligence officers told NBC News the documents leaked by Manning pale in significance to highly classified top secret material released by Snowden. The officers, who would not allow their names to be used, said the Manning sentence seems excessive.
Also at The Hill.
Time magazine adds:
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will agree to be extradited to the U.S. if President Obama grants whistle-blower Chelsea Manning clemency before his term ends on Jan. 20, the organization has said.
In a tweet posted on the group's official account Thursday, WikiLeaks said Assange would not oppose extradition to the U.S. "despite [the] clear unconstitutionality" of any potential criminal complaints that the Justice Department may have against the whistle-blower website, if U.S. Army private Manning is released.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday January 14 2017, @06:24PM
If a commutation for Manning is on the table ("the short list"), President Obama should accept the offer and see what happens. Then we'll really get to see how much of a dick Julian Assange is.
Although another problem here is that Assange hasn't been charged in the U.S. and there are no plans to, AFAIK. Bluster as the IC and pundits might, Wikileaks has conducted itself like a "news organization".
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @07:29PM
That's what a lot of the complete dumbfucks around here don't understand, you know, the ones who breathlessly say stuff like "oooh, the first step out of the embassy he'll be kidnapped and sent off to Gitmo, never to be heard from again." The US doesn't want him AT ALL for exactly the reason you said, they can't get him for publishing the material. Unless there is evidence that he actively participated or provided material assistance, there's nothing to get him on.
His wet dream is to be picked up by the US and put on trial. It would be an ego-fueled circus and he'd get to come out looking like a hero. I guarantee you that whatever minimum time elapses when he come out of the embassy, I bet you he tries to come to the US just hoping something will happen. His biggest fear is once he leaves the embassy, nobody pays him much attention. If the Swedes nor the Brits do anything to him, that'll be quite a blow to his ego. At least he'll have the Russians feeding him material until even they deem him too much of a minor player to pay attention to.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday January 14 2017, @07:58PM
Assange seems pretty adept at getting the attention he wants... Trump and him are the Tweet Lords. I don't think he'll have any trouble doing additional attention whoring even if the U.S. chooses to ignore him. Note: With all that said, I still support Assange. But let's look at just a few ploys:
1. The escape to the embassy. It looks like the rape charges are going to evaporate, perhaps very soon. One could guess that would have happened years ago without the embassy maneuver. But it was a genuinely exciting masterstroke that got him years of press. Don't forget #EmbassyCat.
2. The reward offer for finding the murderer(s) of a DNC staffer. This was another masterstroke (what is being stroked 'ere?). DCPD isn't so great at finding random killers, so the probability of having to pay out is low. This also tests the limits of Wikileaks' supposed "we don't reveal our sources policy". Obviously, if the leakers or associated figures choose to reveal themselves, like Craig Murray or Edward Snowden (not a Wikileaks man, just using as an example), then Wikileaks/Assange should feel free to talk about them. And in this case, Assange wasn't actually claiming that a slain DNC staffer was a source. It was just a FUD tactic that could have been taken right out of the NSA/GCHQ playbook. Assange fashions himself as a spymaster and Wikileaks as the public's intelligence agency, and mind games come with the package. More to the point, this was another great way to get free press, and it tied him to the election scandals of that time.
3. This story. I had to read the summary twice before I remembered that, oh wait, Assange's deal is very weird because the U.S. isn't asking for his extradition. He is offering to become a victim of the American Empire that he has used for propaganda purposes for years. It would make a lot more sense for Edward Snowden to make this offer to Obama.
I just don't think he'll ever have trouble getting the attention he wants.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @08:29PM
> and mind games come with the package.
And are everything he claims to oppose in the traditional media.
If that's really his rationale, then he deserves no trust at all.
Its just too easy to go from "mind games" are legitimate tactics for wikileaks to selective leaking to sell a false narrative for the "greater good."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 15 2017, @04:06AM
???? Hence the reason he is hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy? Am I missing something here?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday January 15 2017, @10:50AM
The AC believes this is part of Assange's game. Commit the crime of bail breach with a daring escape to the embassy, avoid Swedish rape proceedings, and blame it all on the U.S. gubberment even though it's not clear they are involved. Assange says it's all for avoiding Sweden extraditing him to the U.S., when it is actually for attention and/or donations. But if the U.S. really did decide to pick Assange up, he would still get the attention he wants.
In summary, he is pretending to avoid extradition to the U.S. but would actually love to be extradited to the U.S. And the U.S. doesn't care about him.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 15 2017, @04:52PM
Bravado is easy when you think there is little actual downside.
But its easy to miscalculate - just ask Saddam Hussein how well his bluffing worked out.
Assange would have to be delusional to think the publicity of being extradited would outweigh the personal consequences. If he was tried in the US, the amount of institutional power that would be applied against him would be overwhelming. He would get publicity, but he would be crushed in the court of public opinion by the inevitable semi-orchestrated media onslaught. And his ability to come out of the actual trial without serious penalties is pretty dubious. He might win because court is always a gamble, but the odds would be stacked against him. The DoJ would easily spend $10M+ of tax dollars on a high profile trial like that.