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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday January 14 2017, @03:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the your-name-is-on-a-list dept.

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.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday January 14 2017, @07:58PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday January 14 2017, @07:58PM (#453887) Journal

    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

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @08:29PM (#453900)

    > 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."