Chelsea Manning: majority of prison sentence commuted by Obama | The Guardian |
Chelsea Manning, the US army soldier who became one of the most prominent whistleblowers in modern times when she exposed the nature of modern warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who then went on to pay the price with a 35-year military prison sentence, is to be freed in May as a gift of outgoing president Barack Obama.
In the most audacious – and contentious – commutation decision to come from Obama yet, the sitting president used his constitutional power just three days before he leaves the White House to give Manning her freedom. She will walk from the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on 17 May, almost seven years to the day since she was arrested in a base outside Baghdad for offenses relating to the leaking of a vast trove of US state secrets.
US President Obama commutes prison sentence of Wikileaks leaker Chelsea Manning | Deutsche Welle |
The commutation means that Manning, who has already been jailed for nearly seven years, will be set free this May 17, rather than in 2045. The length of her prison term had been criticized by international human rights observers, who argued that it was unnessarily harsh after Manning had confessed and pleaded guilty to a lesser version of the charges levelled against her.
Obama’s decision also means that the Department of Defense no longer holds responsibility for Manning, removing the challenge of having to oversee her.
Pentagon to Pay for Some Sex-Change Operations for Transgender Troops
- ○ WH forces P.J. Crowley to resign for condemning abuse of Manning
Also covered by Martin Longman @BooMan – here.
Shocking revelation of US Army helicopter attack on civilians in Iraq – link to video.
○ Civil Disbediance: Thank You John Lewis by Marie2 on Aug. 7th, 2013
○ Whistleblower Protection Under US Constitution In 1778 by Oui on Aug. 5, 2013
○ The Mistreatment of Bradley Manning by ask on March 13th, 2012
Doing the right thing in the end should always be applauded. But it doesn’t take away the harm, unduly harsh treatment, that Manning was subjected to for all these years under this administration.
I haven’t seen a recent public opinion poll on the question of releasing Manning; so, it might be far less controversial than the headline/articles are suggesting. A majority of the public seems to favor pardoning Snowden.
May 17? Why not immediately? The symbolism of seven years to the day she was arrested is supposed to mean what?
Some legal beagle tell me whether Trump can reverse this.
Had the same gripe and legal question. It’s my understanding that the president’s clemency and pardon power (excluding impeachment) is absolute which would mean that no subsequent president can reverse a pardon.
On reflection, that May 17th release date is politically dumb. It hands Trump and the GOP four months in which they can use the issue anytime they need to stoke their troops and distract attention away from what they are doing in office.
If one chooses to take a hit, better to get it done and over with. The issue will die more quickly that way. At least Obama didn’t choose the weasel way of doing it in the dead of night in the last hours of his tenure; so, he does avoid that sort of outrage. Still, Obama hasn’t learned the political downsides of a compromise concession.
Wondered when someone here would bring this up. There’s a reason why Greenwald didn’t include this in his twitter feed on the commutation of Manning’s sentence. He’s smart enough to grasp that Assange doesn’t play checkers.
Enlighten us.
I handed you a big freaking clue (one that nobody gave me). Figure it out; it’s not that difficult.
My first thought was that Assange’s offer was so he could come in from the cold. Greenwald seems like a salamander to me, I have no sense of his motives or aspirations; complete cipher. Assange, on the other hand, seems one of fate’s playthings.
A salamander? Is that the label you give to all non-hypocrites that oppose unilateral wars, torture, and the government secrets necessary to engage in such despicable behaviors? If so, you would have fit right in with Nixon’s plumbers. But my comment had nothing to do with Greenwald except for him being able to comprehend the statement issued by Wikileaks on behalf of Assange. A statement that I’ll accept as having been written by Assange.
I wouldn’t presume to guess as to whether or not Assange was/is willing to be locked up in a US prison in favor of the release of Manning. That would be a selfless act that very few humans are capable of.
I’m also going to accept that Obama commuted Manning’s sentence because some element of the case for it struck his few humanitarian brain cells. Although I may be on shakier ground with that assumption considering his demonstrated duplicity. But only a naif, fool, or saint would rely on such a generous assumption when staking his/her own life on it. As far as I can know, Assange isn’t a naif, fool, or saint.
Thus, no need for me to speculate further on Obama’s possible secret agenda wrt to the commutation. If Obama were smarter and authentically aghast enough over the election of Trump and what that gang will do to the country, he would commute the sentences of all the whistleblowers his administration has locked up and pardon Snowden. (He’s used the espionage act more times than all the previous presidents combined in the near one hundred years since it was enacted. So Wilsonian. Who was succeeded by who many historians view as one of the worst GOP Presidents, but at least he had the decency to commute Eugene Debs sentence.)
Doesn’t Sweden get first crack at Assange for the rape thing?
Getting warmer.
Note it’s suspicion of rape of a lesser degree, not rape. The statute of limitations expired on the other charges and accordingly, those have been dropped.
Rape of a lesser degree? Is that “just the tip” or something like that? Or is it agreeing to use a condom then not, or continuing with the sexy time even after your partner says “stop!” because the condom broke?
In any case, aren’t the Swedes first in line? I’m assuming he’d rather be handed over to them as opposed to US.
Actually doesn’t UK have first dibs? Or has statute of limitations expired?
The UK is only a transfer agent in this matter.
I thought he jumped bail in UK?
Yes — I’d forgotten that part of the saga — but it’s not like nobody has known where he is since he jumped bail. The Telegraph
This was over the Interpol Red Notice issued in response to a request from the Swedish authorities. This was the first indication that something squirrelly was afoot because Red Notices aren’t used for misdemeanor charges.
Also note that at the time Assange was detained in the UK and while he was free on bond (iirc an ankle bracelet and a specific house detention were additional conditions of his release), it would be safe to conclude that there were no US extradition request or not one that the UK was able or willing to honor.
John McCain
We can only hope that legions of whistleblowers will be encouraged to come out and reveal the secret machinations the Trump admin engages in. But that may not be what McCain fears.
Relevant addition:
Glenn G response:
Well you’ve lost me. In any case Assange’s offer seems to have been disingenuous. My guess is that he’s a white supremacist in sheep’s clothing, his history in Australia is troubling:
So there’s that. White supremacy seems to be the Trump and Putin alliance, so Assange fits in there.
Greenwald too:
Yeah, yeah… A salamander, I know.
Not good at puzzles?
I very carefully stated that I don’t know if Assange would offer to spend his life behind bars for Manning’s freedom. The marker he laid down included that risk, but a many other people would go down with him for him to honor it.
What the Wikileaks attorney has said is legitimate; Manning isn’t free and therefore, even at the most superficial level, the conditions of Assange’s offer haven’t been met. Plus, absent a full and unconditional pardon, Manning could possibly still be subject to an indictment under the espionage act.
If party A offers to do X if party B does Y and party B promises to do Y, party B is not in a position to demand that party A deliver X. And only a small mind would conclude at that point that party A not delivering X is proof that party A was disingenuous.
wrt your citations, I don’t look to a BFF of any individual to tell me what the enemy(ies) of that individual is “really like.” Hell, I don’t often look to the BFF of an individual to tell what that individual is “really like.” Although that BFF would have more personal awareness of what that individual is like because such BFF may not honestly tell what she/he knows and a BFF often doesn’t honestly know. How often do we hear a BFF say, “I couldn’t have imagined that she/he would ever do that?”
Yeah, still opaque to me. Assange said “clemency” and commutation is clemency. Simple.
Who is BFF of whom in your criticism above? Not sure what you’re saying.
Okay — I stand corrected on that point —
Assange set the bar for Obama acting on clemency for Manning very low. Technically it could have been met by reducing Manning’s sentence by as little as a day. Why didn’t Assange set the bar higher by using pardon (or even higher with full and unconditional pardon) instead of clemency? Even if clemency in the minds of ordinary people equals release from prison either as a full commutation or pardon and “pardon” was the word that news reporters used when covering the offer? Assange is well aware of the fact that Obama is an attorney.
It was the second part of Assange’s statement that was the challenge to Obama.
In Obama’s press conference: “I don’t pay attention to Mr. Assange’s tweets,” Obama said. “And I refer you to the Justice Department for any criminal investigations, indictments, extradition issues that may come up with him.”
And Obama walked right to the line and came close to tipping his hand on the aspect of this issue that he and the DOJ have denied for years. Not only that but used the denial to promulgate the notion that Assange was irrationally paranoid.
What is the ‘clear unconstitutionality’ to which he refers? 1st Amendment?
What would Assange be charged with?
Not sure, not under Espionage Act, possibly. Aiding and abetting the flight of a fugitive?:
Assange and many others have long known (or reasonably suspected) that there’s been an active investigation of him and Wikileaks.
Is there a sealed indictment? US authorities won’t say. Is there a lawful extradition request to Sweden, the UK, or anything country? (In general, suspects do have some legal standing and rights to fight an extradition request in the foreign country.) Nobody is talking. Swedish authorities have maintained that all they want is Assange in Sweden to be interviewed for an alleged crime in Sweden (a necessary precondition before an indictment can be issued). Now Swedish authorities have interviewed him, what’s their next step? No indictment and they have to drop the detention order. And that drops the UK official position on his detention.
US, UK, and Swedish authorities have been playing coy on all this. Refusing to reveal if there any legal order for Assange’s arrest and extradition. Of course, “legal” is a nicety that the US can choose to manipulate or not to honor.
Maher Arar
Manning was tortured while he was detained. Not charged for two months and the charges were changed ten months later. Assange is not about to place himself in the same jeopardy that Arar and Manning found themselves.
IOW — show him the indictment and extradition request (for him and all to see) or provide written confirmation that neither exists and has never existed. An admission of the latter would mean that the US, UK, and Sweden colluded in the arbitrary detention of Assange and confirm the findings of a UN panel.
Don’t see how any of this is anything but cold comfort to Assange today. Maybe he hopes to try his luck with Trump’s DoJ but if he suspects Putin wants him to be taken off the chessboard that may not help much. We’ll see. For all I know Trump will put him in charge of digital outreach. As a white supremacist he certainly fits in with his collaborators, handlers and the incoming administration.
How solid is the anti-Assange “white supremacist” meme?
Really!!!
If Assange was part of a system that actively opposed the assuredly “white supremacist” U.S. regime that has actively, consistently and murderously waged war on brownish people since the Korean conflict…in all of Asia, in South/Central/Caribbean America and in all of Africa including the Middle East, how “white supremacist” can he be?
Think on it, goddamnit!!!
Think on it.
Who supports and finances the media that are trying to lay this “white supremacist” thing on him? Something that is coming from the same media that successfully laid the same “racist” meme on Ron Paul despite his having quite clearly stated his position on racism in general any number of times.
Ron Paul on racism in a speech the to House of Representatives (of the Permanently Racist U.S. Government and its owners/controllers no matter how many people of color they hire to front for them):
Think, people!!!
Think!!!
“A liar is not to be believed even when he speaks the truth.”-Cicero
ASG
To bad Paul’s notion of liberty includes anti-collectivism in any form including the quite vital role of government for activities and services for the people, other than the US military/”defense” institutions, local and state LEOs, and control of women’s reproductive organs.
Dunno, Arthur, I’m just going to do a Oui-style citation-dump on you, sorry. Firstly there’s Assange’s tangential but plausibly significant association with a really twisted piece of history in the period 1979-82:
Assange is a very difficult case, to be sure.
Indeed he is. But not as difficult as you seem to think.
Assange’s “tangential but plausibly significant association with a really twisted piece of history in the period 1979-82” is certainly tangential…4 years in a household with someone who appears to have been involved on some sort of level in some sort of cult in Australia. Nowhere is it said that Assange was reared inside of that cult, and except for the unfortunate alternate name “The Great White Brotherhood…which for all I know refers to the white light at the end of the tunnel that so many near-death survivors claim to have seen rather than an ethnic choice…I find no allegations of anything other than mainstream esoteric cult mistakes. The world was full of them then, as it has been for eons and remains so today. Some of those ’60s–>’80s cults became very powerful…Scientology, for example…some of them have been quietly sustaining (different names, same information) for hundreds or even thousands of years and most of them fall apart due to their own inner contradictions and their “differences” with normal, clomp-clomp-clomping society.
So it goes.
So far it seems only that Assange’s mother had bad taste in men, not that he is some underground white supremacist spy who was raised from birth to run an undercover operation against Western Civilization.
Please!!!
Now on to Israel Shamir and his son. I know nothing at all about them other than:
1- What they say about themselves by their actions, not from any suspect “quotes,” and their actions were taken as part of the Wikileaks system.
and
2-What corporate-owned media like the Guardian say about them…the Guardian, another so-called “news source” like the NY Times and WAPO that is undoubtedly more than occasionally tasked by intelligence controllers with spreading lies about the enemies of its owners. (“Fake news” being the meme of the month regarding that act)
Their actions were part of the Wikileaks action that lifted the rocks under which the corporate/globalist neoliberal elite have been running their cheat games for 50+ years. That is absolutely true and cannot be denied. Their leaks were so accurate that to date I do not believe even one of the people who were Wikileaked have been able to deny the truth of a single part of that series of publications. That Wikileaks action produced power for two counter-establishment candidates in the 2016 presidential election…Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Sanders got sandbagged by many of the same people who were involved in the Wikileaks dumps and Trump’s opponents didn’t have their own shit together enough to stop him. HRC ran against Trump; the DNC didn’t have its own shit together enough to beat him and here we jolly well are, aren’t we. Up Trump’s Creek without a paddle. Is that Wikileaks’ fault? Are they part of some vast mechanism that was utilized to get Trump elected and thus seat Russia atop the world’s economic food chain? No, they just published the truth of the matter regarding how the Permanent Government runs and the shit came off of the societal fan in a splatter pattern that favored Trump.
So that goes as well.
Is Israel Shamir…an ethnic Jew by birth and upbringing…an “anti-semite,” or is he only anti-Israel? Those two concepts have been very well conflated as synonyms by pro-Israel forces for well over 80 years. And is the Israeli power elite allied with the U.S./NATO corporate globalist establishment? I’ve got a question for you. Is the Pope Catholic?
Please twice!!!
I like a great deal of what you have said here on BooTrib, Shaun, but beware the fake newsmongers. They lie even when they are telling the truth.
They use “the truth” to service their lies.
Bet on it.
True: Julian Assange’s mother lived with someone who was involved in some sort of Australian cult.
In between: Several less and less “true” steps.
False: Assange is part of a plot to bring down Western Civilization.
Later…
AG
P.S>Even more “true”:
Mahatma Gandhi was once asked what he thought of Western Civilization. His immortal answer? “I think it would be a very good idea.”
Like dat.
Like dis, too.
Bet on this as well.
I am.
Didn’t suggest Assange was part of a plot to ‘bring down’ Western civilisation; white supremacism is Western civilisation. See Gandhi quote above.
LOL.
Quite the panicky shitshow Arthur is engaged in here these days.
Perhaps he could post another garish photo of a town gathering in Alabama in 1919 to show us how much he hates white supremacy.
Doubt that Assange expected or was even looking for any comfort with his offer. My take is that he was challenging Obama to disclose that the US administration had been playing a dirty game and lying about it.
You seem not to appreciate that Assange has chosen the mission to expose government secrets used to kill, harm, steal from people. His primary constraint is what people in the know are willing to pass along to Wikileaks. However, Wikileaks has been very careful not to disseminate anything that isn’t authentic. Also Greenwald’s mission isn’t the same as Assange’s and they don’t see eye-to-eye on everything. For example, Greenwald doesn’t like data dumps. He’s far more fastidious than that. Would guess (and this is only a guess) that if asked, he would have endorsed the Wikileaks project to organize the on-going State Dept data dumps of HRC’s e-mails.
I doubt that Wikileaks would currently publish explosive UK government secrets if such material were given to them. For the obvious reason that they don’t want to put the Ecuadorian Embassy and Assange in physical jeopardy. That may be a reason why Wikileaks wasn’t in the lead in publishing the Snowden files.
Trump will not call off the US dogs on Wikileaks or Assange. Trump may in his own mind believe that he’s the second coming of Reagan, but he couldn’t get away with an Iran-Contra type stunt without being impeached and convicted. Too many Republicans would happily exchange Trump for Pence and all the Democrats are waiting for a solid reason to pounce.
For the moment, I’m accepting Craig Murray’s claim he received the files from an insider and not Putin/Russia. However, he didn’t reveal much, and some of what he said was most likely not entirely true or fictionalized to protect the source. A source or sources that has/have nothing to do with Trump or Putin/Russia. None of this has the smell of opposition (GOP) or foreign dirty tricks. At least not to me and I have a pretty good nose for both.
Follow the thread… Alternate link.
FYI, I checked the status of the Swedish investigation.
Most recent update is that on the 5th of January Ecuador transmitted the result of the investigation consisting of “several hundred pages in Spanish”. Translation time is estimated at six weeks. Then the prosecutor can drop the investigation, file an indictment or conclude that more interviews are necessary.
A side note: an offer isn’t binding unless it’s formally accepted in writing. So, the US can’t hold Assange to his offer to waive extradition even if the US could meet the other legal requirements.
Not saying he would or should but not doing Assange any public relations benefit. Personally I suspect he is in fear for his life. His further usefulness must be doubtful to all concerned.
IANAL, or a cop, but maybe receiving stolen goods? I suppose they could always make something up.
○ RT about Assange’s extradiction to the US
The writer of that RT article doesn’t appreciate how carefully Assange chooses his words.
This is not about “justice.” It’s just another a big time intelligence hustle, not some kind of humanitarian move. “Humanitarianism” would dictate stopping the ongoing massacre of civilians by U.S./NATO forces, and you know damned well that’s not gonna happen under the current DC conditions. No one in a position of power gives two fucks about the welfare of Chelsea Manning. He/she is just another pawn in the seemingly endless Blood For Oil War that has been going on in the Middle East since the end of the 19th century.
Assange, however, is playing chess with his life. He will surrender himself, I think. The deal was probably sealed before Assange made his announcement about Manning. Obama is handing Trump a very hot potato, most probably at the bidding of Obama’s intelligence allies/handlers who are…if you know how to read the media tea leaves of the past year…decidedly and quite publicly anti-Trump.
Another Watergate-level operation is coming ’round the bend.
Watch.
AG
P.S. Check out the accordionist!!!
Chops!!!
Gerard Di Trolio
Glenn G adds:
Anyone that attempts to answer that question?
Also from Glenn:
Linkie
Maybe someone could offer these Neo-World Order folks the real thing? Plenty of horror spots in the world where they could be dropped down into.
Even if Sweden drops the investigation, however, Mr Assange
could be arrested for breaching bail conditions in Britain.
○ WikiLeaks: Julian Assange questioned by Swedish prosecutors at Ecuadorian embassy in London | Reuters – Nov. 14, 2016 |
Prosecutor to determine whether to continue investigation
Under conditions agreed by Ecuador, Ms Isgren and a police investigator asked questions through the Ecuadorian prosecutor,
who would then report the findings to Sweden, which will then decide whether to continue the investigation.
The political situation in Sweden has puzzled me for some time, especially its foreign policy stance and participation in fake news about a Russian submarine in its waters …
From the pro-Assange blog:
The country’s come along way from the rebellious days of Olof Palme, who dared call a spade a spade, and never shrunk from power, always ready to speak truth to it. Today, Sweden is like a Nordic 51st state of the union, closely aligned with US neocon policy through and through. It was Sweden who helped the CIA abduct two of the country’s legal residents to the torture chambers of Egypt, a deftly calculated move, timed for the mid-winter break when most officials and most journalists would be enjoying their six weeks of paid leave. This is the Sweden that is so dangerous today.
…
Since 2006, it’s been legal for Swedish media to disguise propaganda as real news, and it’s no longer necessary to give equal time to opposing views. Swedish media concentrate on filtering out anything that threatens the official narratives. Any media outlet that would dare include `uncomfortable’ stories is immediately branded `racist’ and shunned by the Swedish people as a whole.
○ Sweden Bodström – Wikileaks accusers’ counsel helped CIA rendition | Justice Integrity Project |