Obama commutes Chelsea Manning sentence

[minteK917]

They seem to be hostile toward America when it is something they do not support....like a candidate they do not like.

Thats a single person, not your entire country. Hating on an elected leader is pretty much a founding principle of the united states.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

They seem to be hostile toward America when it is something they do not support....like a candidate they do not like.

More like they just show the fucked up stuff the government does.

[TexasRules]

The release of manning is a phish to get assange to actually keep his word and give himself up. It's like obama is more concerned with getting the people who hacked the dnc then he is about a traitor who gave up national security and put people's lives in danger.

[Orange Joe]

The release of manning is a phish to get assange to actually keep his word and give himself up. It's like obama is more concerned with getting the people who hacked the dnc then he is about a traitor who gave up national security and put people's lives in danger.

you're a little late on that. :P

Assange already showed his true colors.

[Jonnusthegreat]

He also should commute Mr. Snowden.

Snowden isn't serving a sentence and can't be commuted.

[Flutterguy]

The release of manning is a phish to get assange to actually keep his word and give himself up. It's like obama is more concerned with getting the people who hacked the dnc then he is about a traitor who gave up national security and put people's lives in danger.

Obviously. If Manning had leaked DNC emails and shit, he'd still be looking at 30 more years.

[Theodarzna]

The release of manning is a phish to get assange to actually keep his word and give himself up. It's like obama is more concerned with getting the people who hacked the dnc then he is about a traitor who gave up national security and put people's lives in danger.

Manning is a hero, she didn't commit treason. Treason is aiding an enemy, leaking info to the American public is as far as I know not Treason.

[Glorious Leader]

Thats a single person, not your entire country. Hating on an elected leader is pretty much a founding principle of the united states.

For people.who spent 8 years bashing the shit out of the president this should be easy enough for them to understand.

When bush was in power it was unamerican to criticize your commander in chief. When Obama is in office fuck that kenyan muslim marxist.

[Wells]

Manning is a hero, she didn't commit treason. Treason is aiding an enemy, leaking info to the American public is as far as I know not Treason.

I'm fine with her commutation, but that's not what she did.

[Azadina]

This is total bullshit!!!! Bradley Manning is a traitor to this country and a scumbag. He is no better than Benedict Arnold! He shouldve been left to rot in hell. I really hope President Trump can find some way to reverse this travesty of justice!!! I am beyond outraged, I am LIVID!!!!!

Looks like it was a great decision then. Anything that makes radicals frothe, is a step towards a future.

[teddabear]

Plenty of people on Wall Street have spent considerable time in jail and most of them aren't directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds. I get pardoning Snowden, but how can you let Manning walk? Regardless of whether you think that she is a traitor or a hero, she got people killed with her information. Somehow she puts on a wig and acts bat-shit fucking crazy and...she's a hero? What the fuck is happening.

I agree with you about Manning, I see no compelling reason to pardon him unless you conclude he was utterly insane and not responsible for his actions, and I don't think that was the case.

On the other hand if I recall correctly it was ruled his treatment for the first year was essentially torture which may have carried a lot of weight.

I was specifically referring to 2008-2009 Wall Street crash and I am not aware of anybody on Wall Street doing a single day of jail for that.

If you are familiar with wrongful death lawsuits then you know the government considers an american life to be worth around 1 million dollars. The great recession cost 13 trillion dollars. That is the equivalent of 13 million wrongful deaths and nobody did a day in jail.

[Mormolyce]

Pretty unhappy with the precedent this sets for future leakers. It's not that I disagree with all whistleblowing, but like with Snowden, when you go to third parties to leak the information (especially third parties that are hostile towards the US), then you become a traitor. There is a process, if you choose not to follow it, then you should have to deal with the consequences.

That's the wrong way around, Manning leaked via Wikileaks. Snowden leaked to the US press.

I think what you mean is that Manning faced charges in the US, while Snowden fled.

- - - Updated - - -

This is total bullshit!!!! Bradley Manning is a traitor to this country and a scumbag. He is no better than Benedict Arnold! He shouldve been left to rot in hell. I really hope President Trump can find some way to reverse this travesty of justice!!! I am beyond outraged, I am LIVID!!!!!

I read this as sarcasm until I realised you were posting it.

Still hard to take it seriously.

[TexasRules]

Looks like it was a great decision then. Anything that makes radicals frothe, is a step towards a future.

So you are glad Trump was elected since all these radicals are foaming at the mouth. It's "a step towards the future"

[ringpriest]

Not that I disagree with the assessment of brutality, but I'm curious if you can find any comparable leaks in any other presidencies so we can properly gauge Obama's response to say, Bush Jr/Sr, or Clinton, or any other presidents in recent history.

I've heard this statement tossed around a lot.

The most apt (though older) comparison is Ellsberg and the Pentagon papers - the charges against him were dropped after a mistrial, and there was an important pro-freedom of speech Supreme Court ruling by the end of it. In looking back on what I wrote above, "overall" and "brutal" aren't completely fair to Obama to put together like that, though his treatment of leakers has many problems. The treatment of Manning in particular has been brutal and unprecedented - other leakers have tended to get slaps on the wrist and/or short sentences, not decades-long sentences with lots of time in solitary (that tends to be more reserved for actual spies - agents of foreign powers often acting for profit or the direct benefit of a foreign country, something Manning was explicitly not found guilty of); what is also unprecedented with the other "leakers" (who've been caught) under Obama is the sheer number of prosecutions - aside from Manning the one that stands out is Drake, who in the end avoided Manning-level jail treatment, but did have his life destroyed, even though he was arguably following the rules (and who in turn, was a massive lesson for Snowden, and likely is what caused him to choose "steal, dump, and flee" over "follow process to complain").

One similar case under Obama was the persecution (to the point of suicide) of hacktivist Aaron Schwartz by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who never received any official reprimand for her actions.

It's difficult to find many more examples, because there was less leaking, or wasn't followed up on much with the Bush and Clinton administrations. One such might be Sandy Berger, a member of the Clinton Administration who, during the Bush Administration stole secret documents and got (compared to Manning) a slap on the wrist.

[TirielWoW]

This is total bullshit!!!! Bradley Manning is a traitor to this country and a scumbag. He is no better than Benedict Arnold! He shouldve been left to rot in hell. I really hope President Trump can find some way to reverse this travesty of justice!!! I am beyond outraged, I am LIVID!!!!!

Joke's on you - he can't. Commutations by one President can't be reversed by another President.

[Deleted]

Joke's on you - he can't. Commutations by one President can't be reversed by another President.

But he could - theoretically - commute whoever strangles Chelsea with her stockings?

[TirielWoW]

But he could - theoretically - commute whoever strangles Chelsea with her stockings?

Sure. He could do that.

But he can't un-commute Ms. Manning's sentence.