Pres. Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence, out in May

Manning, who had been sentenced to 35 years in prison, formally asked Obama to commute her sentence last year. She has been jailed since being arrested in May 2010 and will be released May 17.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/01/17/obama-commutes-nearly-all-of-sentence-of-chelsea-manning-the-u-s-soldier-convicted-for-leaking-classified-information-to-wikileaks/?utm_term=.0b334af183a6?tid=a_breakingnews?tid=a_breakingnews&hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar

Story just breaking.

Good news for her.

Remind me again what Bradley Manning did to end up in the clinker.

She passed on documents to Wikileaks and pleaded guilty to that. The sentence was 35 years and seemed excessive - guess Obama agrees with that assertion.

Good.

Oh well. May? Maybe Trump can bump it back up by then.

That's good, the sentence seemed excessive and they threw the book at her (then him).

The world needs it's whistle-blowers. If the investigation deemed that there was no damage done (or minimal damage), then it was a good call to commute the sentence. Let the sentence fit the crime, and appearances be damned.

lol that isn't how it works...

I know. If it was the conventional way of doing things, sure. The soon to be new CiC isn't exactly conventional.

That doesn't matter. Protection via double jeopardy is a constitutional right in the US.

Damn, you nailed it. All anyone has to do to get out of a jail sentence is to fake having gender identity disorder and they'll get off free. Astute legal defence and analysis you have there.

Waiting for Assange to surrender.

It's pretty amazing that people actually think this. How sheltered must you be to not understand that's not how the world works?

As a Trump supporter, I am glad Obama is doing this! It would be hypocritical to be ok with Russian leaks but not be ok with what Chelsea did.

The entire situation is a cluster but if the reasoning is just, I can understand (not necessarily agree) why he did what he did. Two things piss me off though. First, why does the President wait until the end to deal with this situation? My guess is because a President would have a difficult time defending such an action while still facing a lengthy term. Second, I am growing tired of the federal government always using the "compromising national security" when someone exposes the government of being guilty of an unconstitutional activity.

@Jakejack: Pretty sure Obama still wants to nab Eric Snowden.

And to see him get a harsh sentence.

Kudos to Obama for doing the right thing.

While I don't agree with Manning's actions (some of what she leaked had nothing to do with corruption and had no business being released to the public), I am not that mad about her being released early.

This way, Manning can finish transitioning on her own dime instead of on taxpayer dollars, which I am sure will not be a problem with supporters that I am sure will be happy to donate towards further treatment. Also, I'm sure that the USDB will be happy to not have to deal with such a high profile inmate anymore.

It's also pretty amazing that people actually think this is not entirely possible, and not how the world works. I wouldn't word it like jun_aka_pecto, but I'm still suspicious. Was it just convenience or brilliance on Manning's part, to say that she wanted to live as a woman the day after getting sentenced? I never met Manning so I don't know, but people can certainly take advantage of certain situations for their own gain. The world can work like that, unfortunately. I do think that 35 years was excessive though, so good for her.

How nice of Obama to let Manning suffer for 5 years first. What a pro-whistle blower attitude. Obama's truly a stand up individual who lives up to his word.

*cough*.

Surrender, why again? Assange was never formally charged with anything, and charges sought against him were dropped.

The only charge that had evidence was regarding consensual sex with a condom. Everybody hates rape, but saying Assange needs to give himself up for sexual deviancy is hilarious.

For anyone to think Assange has any real reason to give himself up at this point is just a demonstration of their lack of knowledge on what he's in trouble for. Assange has agreed to the hearing of charges if there was a guarantee that the point wasn't to extradite him to the USA. They couldn't make that guarantee.

Let's see who can put 2 and 2 together...why would the USA want Assange extradited for crimes committed in Sweden that Swedish officials aren't pursuing?

Well, if "All anyone has to do to get out of a jail sentence is to fake having gender identity disorder and they'll get off free" then I'm pretty sure that even the dumbest crackhead would just pretend to have a gender identity disorder when he gets caught.

Shouldn't have done that.

Jan 20 cannot get here soon enough. Damn, Barry. Couldn't leave without giving this traitor POS a pass?

I suppose Bergdahl is next. What the hell. If letting one traitor go is good, letting a deserter/traitor go is even better.

This person committed treason and should have been shot.

Snowden is white heterosexual cisgender male, so nah brah.

@bmanva: Do you need a hug? =(

@JimB: Treason can win you a presidency now, so don't hold your breath.

Snowden ran to Russia and hasn't served any time. Manning served her time. In a society such as ours, sometimes whistle blowers are necessary to hold the gov't accountable. Plus the information he leaked was not that dangerous to national security.

@zeroyaoi: No thanks I've got in my safe space just in time.

Crackheads? No, and the same for murderers and other violent offenders. They get little to no sympathy from the public.

I'm shocked as hell numb nuts hasn't pardoned him as of yet and I'll be surprised if he doesn't sign the paper before Friday at noon. .The traitorous "soldier" is someone I find utter disgust with rather than Bradley Manning.

The left still can't admit to themselves why they lost the election. They blame everyone else. Until you admit truthfully why you lost you will lose again.

@JimB: It's shortsighted to believe that there was some singular reason as to how and why the election concluded the way that it did.

Both sides behaved extremely poorly in any case. Doesn't change the fact that the country elected someone who may or may not be blackmailed by the Russians. The notion in itself is dangerous, and this isn't even regarding how he has the maturity level of a 12-year old.

Apparently I didn't make my point clear, so let's put it this way...

Never mind the claim that Manning was faking her gender identity disorder, if faking a gender identity disorder was an automatic "get out of jail free" card then there'd be a shitload of people successfully using that as a defense. Now, look at the numbers. How many people are ACTUALLY claiming that they have a gender identity disorder in a successful attempt to get out of prison?

Secondly, Manning is only getting released because her sentence was commuted by the POTUSA. How many prisoners do you think actually get their sentences commuted by the president?

The Democrats lost because the had a bad candidate and a bad campaign strategy and no real message. Also people were against the Washington establishment this election cycle. The e-mail leaks didn't help, but I don't think they changed many people mind as to who they were going to vote for in this election.

Hilary was in a position to be blackmailed by more countries because of the Clinton Foundation.

@JimB: "Also people were against the Washington establishment this election cycle"

Which makes this all the more hilarious when you consider how Trump has flooded his cabinet with pro-establishment people.

If that ain't a con, I don't know what it is. Clinton may have been awful, but to assume that Trump is somehow a better alternative is truly an Olympic gold effort in the sport of mental gymnastics.

She was working in a field that heavily discriminates against transgender people, so obviously she wouldn't have been open about it until after being kicked out, and it may have also effected her chances at court. So it makes sense that she would announce it after being sentenced as that's the point here she would have nothing to lose by doing so.

I'm the opposite. His medical bills were small potatoes compared to the potential damage his act did. A lot of what Manning released had to do with Iraq and Afghanistan. We had locals there who were helpful in keeping an eye out. It doesn't take much to figure out how to compromise them if the leaked papers had some clues on where to look. Once the eyes forward were taken out, is it still a wonder why no one seems to know anything there except after the fact?

I was fine with letting him pile up his medical bills so long as he stayed behind bars. Snowden's actions would probably result in embarrassment for some and maybe even some jail terms. Manning's leaks probably got many people killed.

The sentence got commuted, she did not get a pardon. There is a difference. Honestly, I'm mostly fine with it. Jail sentences in this country are incredibly steep. 35 years did seem pretty steep. Not a fan of what she did, but she served some time for it.

She was commuted so it's not a pardon or admission that what she did wasn't wrong. Time served is essentially going to be the punishment for it. In addition, the sentence handed down seemed incredibly harsh considering the judge presiding over the case acknowledged that most of the cables/information released was not of the 'HOLY SHIT' level. Nothing above the level of 'Secret' was released. We absolutely do need whistle blowers and the Obama admin. has been very harsh on 'leaks', something of a criticism that many have had with him (including myself).

This is in stark contract to what Snowden released.

Manning didn't really have anything to lose for coming out as transgender before she was convicted. Since she wanted out anyway, coming out as gay and/or transgender would have been a quick discharge if she did it prior to being charged. Even if she didn't say she was transgender, coming out as gay would have been a ticket home and a honorable discharge.

The worst that could have happened was that they charged her with fraudulent enlistment for concealing being transgender when she originally enlisted (being transgender wasn't covered under DADT), but that would require the Army to prove that she knew she was transgender when she enlisted. Even if they could, the worst you could get for fraudulent enlistment is two years, which would have been time served considering how long she was locked up before she was convicted.

After sleeping on it, I take back some of what I originally said and I don't think that Manning should have been let off due to the things she gave to WikiLeaks that could have actually put people in danger. At least WikiLeaks didn't release every single thing Manning gave them, but they released plenty of stuff that did damage.

However, commuting her sentence was the President's decision, and while I don't fully agree with it, it is his right to do so. But on the bright side, commuting Manning's sentence isn't the same as a pardon. Manning will still have a Dishonorable Discharge, which means a felony conviction andno veteran benefits. Not like she will care anyway, I'm sure that people are already getting GoFundMe accounts ready for a post-release nest egg and for further transitioning treatment for her.

Until Trump was elected, I was almost certain that political pressure would have eventually lead to Manning being moved to Miramar with female inmates. I'm sure that the Army was already tired of the ACLU and several LGBT organizations breathing down their neck, and them having to use significantly more resources guarding Manning to prevent her from either killing herself or being targeted by other inmates.

Military prisons are vastly different from civilian prisons. Outside of recreation time where those not in solitary can play sports with others, physical contact is not allowed. Even something as simple as a handshake is considered physical contact and thus assault, which gets one sent to solitary.

@WhiteKnight77: I know how military prisons work, I had more than one soldier under me take a vacation in one. If anything, a military prison is easier on an inmate than a civilian one when it comes to the other inmates due to the fact that your fellow inmates are going to be former servicemembers.

Many of the worst of the worst you will find in a civilian prison would never be found in a military prison for the simple fact that they would have never been eligible to enlist in the first place. Not saying that you will never find a monster that used to be in the military in prison (Timothy McVeigh and Jeffrey Dahmer both served in the Army, for example), and some monsters locked up right now slipped through the cracks like Nidal Hasan and Robert Bales, but it is less likely.

What's done is done. I'm still not going to refer to him as her in light of what he did. But, hopefully, he makes the best of his early release and not end up in the news or slammer again. In time, my view of him might change for the better. Not right now, though.

Right now, there are many veterans and active duty folks pissed and I'm with them.

Trump was a better campaigner with a better message.

Why does committing a crime change a persons gender?

People seem to forget that the Obama administration is the same god damned administration that claimed that the NSA doesn't spy on Americans, only to have that massive leak which proved they do.