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THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUTING CHELSEA MANNING’S SENTENCE ON THE EVE OF THE
TRUMP ERA


THE CONTROVERSIAL DECISION RAISES QUESTIONS OF HOW HARSHLY INTELLIGENCE LEAKERS
SHOULD BE PUNISHED.

Lauren C. Williams Twitter Jan 19, 2017, 3:19 pm
SHARE Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp
Share


President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of
the White House in Washington. Under mounting pressure to free convicts as a
last act, Obama is planning at least one more batch of pardons and commutations
before leaving office in two weeks. But don’t expect many famous offenders to
make the list. CREDIT: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

As one of his final acts, President Barack Obama commuted Chelsea Manning’s
35-year sentence for leaking a trove of classified military documents to
Wikileaks. The controversial decision has been met with a mix of praise and
staunch disapproval, raising questions of how harshly intelligence leakers
should be punished — and there’s still no consensus about what the U.S. should
do about future whistleblowers.

The Obama administration’s track record on national security whistleblowers has
been pretty harsh. Obama has been clear that he thinks releasing classified
information is an illegal act worthy of punishment.

Since 2009, the administration has referred 150 intelligence leaking cases for
the Justice Department to prosecute, and seven major cases have been tried. The
Defense Department has also begun building a data threat system aimed to prevent
the next major document leak, in accordance with an executive order to protect
sensitive intelligence.

In commuting Manning’s sentence, rather than pardoning her, Obama stayed on
message: that unauthorized sharing of intelligence information will be punished.
By her expected May release, Manning will have spent nearly seven years in
prison, longer than others convicted of similar crimes.

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Manning’s commutation was likely heavily influenced by her circumstances: a
history of mental illness, repeated suicide attempts, extended periods in
solitary confinement for minor infractions, and the military’s initial refusal
to provide transgender health care or transfer her out the male prison.

Manning and Edward Snowden, who is wanted for espionage charges and has taken
asylum in Russia since the 2013 document leaks, are often spoken of in the same
breath when talking about major national security leaks.

> “More Americans are going to recognize very quickly the importance of
> whistleblowers. The public relies on the independent media and the media
> relies on sources.”

But Snowden didn’t submit the paperwork needed for clemency. And while there’s a
campaign to get Snowden pardoned, Obama has responded by saying that Snowden
hasn’t done anything deserving of clemency.

“I can’t pardon somebody who hasn’t gone before a court and presented
themselves, so that’s not something that I would comment on at this point,”
Obama told German newspaper Der Spiegel, according to a CNN report.

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“At the point at which Mr. Snowden wants to present himself before the legal
authorities and make his arguments or have his lawyers make his arguments, then
I think those issues come into play,” Obama said. “Until that time, what I’ve
tried to suggest — both to the American people, but also to the world — is that
we do have to balance this issue of privacy and security.”

On the other hand, Obama has defended his decision to commute Manning’s sentence
by saying that she paid for her actions.

“The notion that the average person who was thinking about disclosing vital,
classified information would think that it goes unpunished, I don’t think would
get that impression from the sentence that Chelsea Manning has served,” he said
during a news conference. “I feel very comfortable that justice has been
served.”

There’s no clear path forward on whistleblower policy reform, only defending
those who come forward.

But according to Ben Wizner, the ACLU’s director of technology, speech, and
privacy policy, intelligence leakers will become more important under the Trump
administration, which has already positioned itself as hostile to the press.

“More Americans are going to recognize very quickly the importance of
whistleblowers,” Wizner said. “The public relies on the independent media and
the media relies on sources.”

Advertisement



Through Manning’s illegal actions, for example, the public learned of
undisclosed U.S. military abuse and torture practices, an Apache helicopter
attack in Baghdad that killed 12, including two Reuters journalists, in 2012.

Wizner said there’s “no chance” of reform with a GOP-controlled Congress, White
House, and Supreme Court, but the ACLU will “make sure news organizations and
whistleblowers won’t be intimidated or restricted.”

President-elect Donald Trump has previously called NSA whistleblower Edward
Snowden a “terrible threat” and suggested that he should be killed.

“I think Snowden is a terrible threat, I think he’s a terrible traitor and you
know what we used to do in the good old days when we were a strong country, you
know what we used to do to traitors right?” Trump told Eric Bolling on “Fox &
Friends” in 2013.

Bolling replied, “Well, you killed them, Donald.” Trump continued, “We can’t
allow this guy to go out there and give out all our secrets and also embarrass
us at every level. We should get him back and get him back now.”

And top Republicans believe whistleblowers deserve harsh sentences, criticizing
the president for releasing Manning 28 years early. Arizona Sen. John McCain (R)
called the decision “a grave mistake” that could “encourage further acts of
espionage and undermine military discipline.” House Speaker Paul Ryan said
Manning’s commuted sentence sets a “dangerous precedent that those who
compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes.”

As Trump settles into office in the coming months, national security will be at
the top of his agenda given recent Russian hacks. But by commuting Manning,
Obama has ensured that a debate around how the U.S. protects itself from foreign
and domestic actors will be center stage.

Manning’s was one of 209 commutations and 64 pardons this week as a part of his
administrations push to lessen prison terms for non-violent crimes.

Obama commuted the former leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement Oscar
López Rivera, who was sentenced in to 55 years in 1981 for rebellious speech
against the U.S. He also pardoned retired U.S. Marine Gen. James Cartwright, who
pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about providing classified documents about a
cyberattack on Iran’s nuclear facilities to a journalist. The president also
transferred 10 Guantanamo prisoners to the nation of Oman.

#Chelsea Manning
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