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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @10:56PM
And so? If Trump is proud of his sexual prowess, how can it be used to blackmail him? Do you think Melinka's going to lock him out of the bedroom if a tape of him with some ladies of negotiable virtue surfaces? Not if she wants to keep the credit cards!
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Sunday January 15 2017, @12:47PM
If you think that is how the blackmail would be used, then you are being very naive.
It could be used to counter his business ventures, his money, his popularity, his ability to negotiate deals, his credibility, to the extent that he can achieve nothing, indeed he will be nothing, unless the Russians support it. Now THAT would hurt not only Trump personally but the US in general. Do you still not think that it isn't a Russian desire to have that sort of control over another super-power?
Whether his wife remains true to him probably wouldn't bother him too much - there must be millions of women who would marry him providing he remains wealthy and influential. But take that away from him, and he becomes far less attractive.