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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 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.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(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.