President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world, disrupted the administration, and made WikiLeaks, the recipient of those disclosures, famous.Manning gets out this May, instead of in 2045.
The decision by Mr. Obama rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to commit suicide last year, from an uncertain future as a transgender woman incarcerated at the male military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. She has been jailed for nearly seven years, and her 35-year sentence was by far the longest punishment ever imposed in the United States for a leak conviction.
We were just talking yesterday about the NYT's sympathetic highlighting of Manning's plight. And we were just talking today — it's one post down — about the NYT editorial "Mr. Obama, Pick Up Your Pardon Pen."
ADDED: Obama has also pardoned James Cartwright:
Cartwright, the former vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, pleaded guilty in October to a single charge of making false statements to federal investigators in 2012 when he was questioned about leaking top secret information on US efforts to cripple Iran’s nuclear program to two journalists.
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२७४ टिप्पण्या:
274 पैकी 1 – 200 नवीन› नवीनतम»What a miserable asshole. Both of them. I really thought "no way Obama would do something so clearly stupid" when this was floated last week--if only because of all the Left hate w/r/t WikiLeaks lately. 35 year sentence!
You think it can't get worse, but Obama finds a way. Disgusting.
So, WikiLeaks is back to being the good guys, right?
I imagine the people running the prison are happier.
Because trans.
This is bizarre. No mitigating information has come to light. Manning has never expressed remorse. If suicide attempts mean you walk of prison, Obama will be commuting a lot more sentences before Friday.
I am beginning to think Obama has gone insane.
Guess women aren't cut out for the militaty after all.
Because "worst president ever" was still in doubt?
Move troops into Poland because the DNCs emails and Podesta's emails were leaked but let a traitor out. Wow. Just Wow.
"She will now be released in May 2017"
What is the rationale for waiting? Is that when the speech therapy will be done?
Now I wonder what Wikileaks threatened Obama with ....
Blogger Matthew Sablan said..."So, WikiLeaks is back to being the good guys, right?"
Yes, these were "good" leaks.
Well, I guess that get's the taxpayers off the hook for funding her voice training.
"Well, I guess that get's the taxpayers off the hook for funding her voice training."
What makes you think that?
The Times alert I saw said she (xi, etc.) will be freed in May. I wonder if the delay is to provide time to conclude the taxpayer-paid gender reassignment nonsense (the vocal lessons, etc.).
And I wish I were kidding.
Bergdahl still to come
Mattman: It is commuting the sentence, not pardoning. So the idea is that Manning lives out the sentence and then instead of transferring prisons go free [so, sort of like how Bush commuted Scooter Libby instead of pardoning him.] It's the fig leaf for Obama, so he can say: "Manning has been punished enough."
Hey, treason is OK, if you are a transsexual.
and so it begins. I bet Bergdahl is next....
"Bergdahl still to come"
-- While Manning was always likely to get something from Obama, even Obama isn't tone deaf enough to release Bergdahl.
and then Hillary, full pardon. Probably Bill too just in case.
[If I'm proven wrong, I won't eat a hat or anything, but I'll leave the posts up for posterity of my wrongness.]
Matthew Sablan: Fine, but couldn't he have commuted it effective today or tomorrow? (Or in 2037, which would have been really funny?)
Why May? Daffodil season?
Obama's contempt for the everyday American is quite evident in these past few weeks. Progs will pretend not to notice, but progs lie.
Mattman: The one report I read said that's when Manning's next transfer was, so it probably is just easier paperwork wise to change that from transfer to freedom. Plus, releasing Manning TODAY would be an even bigger story than it already will be. At least, my thoughts. Could be any number of reasons.
O's goodbye was always bound to be FU, USA.
Physically sick to my stomach here.
The Democrats have zero moral standing to scream about national security or classified info after this. At least Trump hasn't pardoned a traitor because of politics yet. I guess Bergdhal and Snowden are next up for Obama ont he way out the door.
The Framers' biggest mistake was giving the president absolute power to pardon. After Bill Clinton abused his pardoning authority, Sen. Arlen Spector (R-Pa) argued for a constitutional amendment that would have required presidential pardons to earn congressional approval, but he dropped the idea after Bush II won election.
Anyone else in federal prison he can let out early?
He should also pardon Hillary. Just do it.
Manning’s grant came in a batch of 209 commutations and 64 pardons, announced with four days left in Obama’s presidency.
But will he release Christian Saucier?
"The Framers' biggest mistake was giving the president absolute power to pardon."
-- It is meant to be a check on the judiciary, but it has never really been used that way.
David Begley said...
Anyone else in federal prison he can let out early?
The Ft Hood workplace violence guy? Nidal Hasan...
I don't think he will pardon berghdal. But Snowden?
Seems like a real possibility at this point.
Why jail Chelsea Manning if Hillary Clinton's email server was no big deal? The Obama Administration was one walking, talking security violation.
Anyone want to start the list see how many we can get right?
I'll say Hillary and Bill, Bergdahl, and maybe even Roman Polanski.
But not Christian Saucier or Gen. Petraeus.
So Wikileaks is the bad guy now?
Wasn't he/she really safer in prison? What does he/she think awaits him/her now? A reality TV show?
Not surprising, according to recently released Russian documents President Faily McWorsethancarter often masterbates to all things tranny. An ex-MI6 agent reviles in documents of tapes recording the current first lady giving Barry a golden shower as he describes the thrill of taking a dump while being blown by an unnamed member of the media in a public restroom stall between Chelsea Manning and a six year old girl.
Edward Snowden still a hero around these parts, especially with Trumpists?
The Democrats are working really hard to make sure they never get the white, non-coastal, non-urban vote again, aren't they?
Imagine the fun of being a Democratic office holder (e.g. senator) in a purple state & having to talk this one down at the next town hall meeting. That's an Excedrin headache, fer shure, fer shure.
"Imagine the fun of being a Democratic office holder (e.g. senator) "
-- How many of those are left?
Good. He can pay for his own dickectomy.
So if wikileaks releases Dept of State and DOD stuff, it's OK, but if they leak DNC stuff, we blame the Russians?
Obama pardoned General James Cartwright. Why no mention of this?
There might be a Las Vegas game in this: predict who gets the pardon. Snowden is running a good race, but OJ Simpson could make a move. Maybe just pick an unknown from the middle of the country, someone with a thousand parking tickets in Chicago, just to mix it up and make the other pardons look tamer.
Roman Polanski is under state indictment. Obama can't pardon him.
David Begley, he still has a phone and a pen. He might try it.
How do you spell Chelsea Manning?
M-A-R-C R-I-C-H.
While Manning was always likely to get something from Obama, even Obama isn't tone deaf enough to release Bergdahl.
I'll take that bet, because tone deafness has nothing to do with it. Obama is better, smarter, and more knowledgeable than all of us proles, so when he does something, morality and history are on his side.
I don't really have a problem with the pardon power. If a President is willing to pardon a large number of traitors, we're well past the point of worrying about pardons. What Congress should do is prevent pardons from occurring during the lame duck period. If you want to pardon someone, do when there are still some consequences.
As for Manning, the likelihood that the rest of his life will be miserable and short, even out of prison, is very high.
But will he release Christian Saucier?
That strikes too close to home.
AND he was a con-law adjunct prof. He recently commissioned a flunky to write something for attribution to himself for the Harvard Law Review. I could see it.
There are some who will argue that I don't have the power to pardon "El Chapo", because I'm not the President of Mexico. Well, I have a phone and a pen, and Mexico will pay for this pardon. [pause for laughter] Just channeling my successor a bit there.
" Original Mike said...
"Well, I guess that get's the taxpayers off the hook for funding her voice training."
What makes you think that?"
I'm sure she will be discharged from the Army so they will no longer be responsible for her medical care. Not sure of the details but I'm not sure she will be eligible for VA benefits depending on the nature of the discharge (less than honorable). Worse case she will be eligible for VA benefits, but that is a different story.
Edward Snowden still a hero around these parts, especially with Trumpists?
Just WTF does this have to do with anything being discussed?
I AM SO ANGRY I AM ALMOST SPITTING NAILS.
Why the hatred for Manning, but not Snowden?
I don't have a problem with this. The guy was young and stupid, unlike Petraeus who was head of the CIA after a 35 year military career. And unlike, Snowden he didn't run to the Russians with even more classified documents that never saw the light of day. And, unlike Hillary, he didn't run for president. 7 years is a long enough sentence.
And Obama should pardon Bergdahl as well. The military needs to do a better job of screening out the mentally unstable.
She will have been imprisoned longer than Jefferson Davis.
I Callahan, I'm pointing out the hypocrisy of the outrage over the pardon of Manning while Trumpists generally consider Snowden a hero. Sorry you're having trouble keeping up.
Snowden was a whistleblower. He drew attention to a secret system that no one would have known about otherwise. His leaks had value. Manning just threw out anything he could get his hands on, none of which was any big deal. Yes, now we know that State Department employees talk smack about their counterparts from other countries. And we know that soldiers have a fucked up sense of humor. Is that really crucial public information?
I don't have a problem with this. The guy was young and stupid, unlike Petraeus who was head of the CIA after a 35 year military career. And unlike, Snowden he didn't run to the Russians with even more classified documents that never saw the light of day. And, unlike Hillary, he didn't run for president. 7 years is a long enough sentence. And Obama should pardon Bergdahl as well. The military needs to do a better job of screening out the mentally unstable.
Ah, so giving away secrets to the enemy, or joining the enemy, is a sign of mental illness that shouldn't be punished. Have you freaking lost it?
Not exactly a surprise.
I'm pointing out the hypocrisy of the outrage over the pardon of Manning while Trumpists generally consider Snowden a hero. Sorry you're having trouble keeping up.
And if you read the next comment, you'll (hopefully) realize that the comparison between the two is not congruent. Sorry you're having trouble keeping up.
I vote to pardon OJ. And Charlie Manson.
D'oh, I see now what you mean about Polanski. Yeah, poor Roman has to rely on the California state authorities. With any luck for him, their views on sex will continue to evolve and become more European.
@Oh Yea - ObamaCare, Medicaid, VA. I don't know, but I know how I'd bet.
"Ah, so giving away secrets to the enemy, or joining the enemy, is a sign of mental illness that shouldn't be punished. Have you freaking lost it?"
Why do Trumpists consider Snowden a hero? Snowden gave secrets to Russia. "His leaks had value", yes to Russia.
This is just Obama smoke to distract from his wiring half a billion dollars of our money to the Environmental Hoax Scammers over at the UN, at the same time. That is the Retirement plan for B. Hussein Obama. He one upped the Clinton Crime Family one more time.
I am glad to see the mercy for "her", but I hope DJT gets our money back Friday.
Some lowlights from the NY Times story:
Ms. Manning was still known as Bradley Manning when she deployed with her unit to Iraq in late 2009. There, she worked as a low-level intelligence analyst helping her unit assess insurgent activity in the area it was patrolling, a role that gave her access to a classified computer network.
You have to mangle grammar to accommodate the fact that Manning must have always been a woman (gender does not change, says progressive orthodoxy, it is in born). So Bradley was a woman in 2009, even though no human being on earth would have said so (including Manning), and no objective medical test would have resulted in a finding other than that Bradley Manning was a man.
She decided to make all these files public, as she wrote at the time, in the hope that they would incite “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms.” WikiLeaks’ disclosed them — working with traditional news organizations including The New York Times — bringing notoriety to the group and its founder, Julian Assange.
You would think that the Times would mention that it was illegal for Manning to make the files public, and almost certainly illegal for the Times to collude with Manning's plan. The NY Times seems to think it operates outside of the law.
Testimony at the trial showed that she had been in a mental and emotional crisis as she came to grips, amid the stress of a war zone, with the fact that she was not merely gay but had gender dysphoria. She had been behaving erratically, including angry outbursts and lapsing into catatonia midsentence. At one point she had emailed a photograph of herself in a woman’s wig to her supervisor.
So Manning was and is still insane. Maybe that justifies commuting his sentence?
They do say women get lighter sentences.
Oh Yea said...
" Original Mike said...
"Well, I guess that get's the taxpayers off the hook for funding her voice training."
What makes you think that?"
I'm sure she will be discharged from the Army so they will no longer be responsible for her medical care. Not sure of the details but I'm not sure she will be eligible for VA benefits depending on the nature of the discharge (less than honorable). Worse case she will be eligible for VA benefits, but that is a different story.
Well They aren't letting him go noow, but waiting 3 months :)
As for VA benefits, every General Court Martial conviction I have ever seen ends with:
...reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, and a dishonorable discharge...
e.g. no benefits, and he stays a convicted felon. commutation impacts sentence not the conviction.
Been enjoying this blog/commenteriat for years. Holla!
Snowden is a spy for Russia. He ran straight to their consulate in Hong Kong with millions of classified documents. The NSA stuff he gave Greenwald isn't a fraction of what he made off with. The guy is a traitor.
Why was the stuff Manning leaked considered "classified"?
I read he pardoned some guy named Bradley Manning. Who's this Chelsea person? A figment of someone's imagination?
If Putin puts on a wig and lobbies for Federally paid gender re-assignment, will that make the Russian hacking of Podesta's emails ok?
Assange said that if Obama freed Manning he would agree to extradition to the US. We'll see. Maybe this is why Obama pardoned Manning.
"If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case," WikiLeaks tweeted late Thursday."
@The Drill SGT - Do you want to bet whether or not the taxpayers ultimately foot the bill?
We let people like Deutsch, Berger, Armitage, Petraeus, and countless others who leak classified information skate. The CIA is filled with leakers who leak valuable information. Manning was a 21-year-old private who leaked mostly trivial information out of some misguided sense of morality.
It looks bad to let high officials skate but throw the book at some lowly young man.
What kind of odds will you give me for Lois Lerner? Not a smidgen of corruption there, so ...
I feel there is an expectation now for every American take a strong side on every issue that comes into public consciousness.
Are we still allowed to not care about some things? If so, I'm taking the "meh" on this one.
"No mitigating information has come to light."
Well, as noted above, insanity, impaired judgement.
His officers were partly at fault due to poor personnel judgement. It seems this person should never have been given a security clearance or retained in the military in the first place, and that seems to have been apparent at the time.
The other interesting takeaway is that security procedures within the system are terrible. The stuff that got dumped should never have been accessible to Manning in the first place. They do not seem to have heard of separation of duties or need-to-know.
"It looks bad to let high officials skate"
The famous former Secretary of State, ahem.
"What kind of odds will you give me for Lois Lerner? Not a smidgen of corruption there, so ..."
I'd say Lois Lerner is a no. She's under no real danger so not worth the capital.
Insanity? For Manning? But I've been told over and over again that men thinking they're women is perfectly normal... Brave even...
mccullough said...
Why was the stuff Manning leaked considered "classified"?
Well for two examples, there were 250,000 cables between the State Dept and Embassies, where we discussed names of foreign nationals who were friendly to the US and help us in some way. There were also operational files from A-stan and Iraq where informants were named.
When stuff is marked SECRET or Top SECRET, it is not up to some PFC to make his own decision on releasing the material.
Does this mean that Manning doesn't get tax payer money for the sex change?
or to the Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to leak either. Or to the head of the CIA.
It's not a justice system that gives a pass to guys like Cartwright and Petraeus to leak info to get laid from reporters.
What kind of odds will you give me for Lois Lerner? Not a smidgen of corruption there, so ...
It's basic leftism. If you commit a crime, it's the way you were thinking that makes it a punishable crime. If you had pure motives and/or a messed-up mind, you're not guilty of any crime, none at all, and society has no right to lock you up.
Idea! How does the Presidential pardon read? Does it pardon Bradley Manning or Chelsea Manning? Did Manning legally change his name? Or does it pardon Bradley Manning a/k/a Chelsea Manning? What if the Bureau of Prisons doesn't honor the pardon?
General Cartwright was pardoned today, just in case anybody missed it when I posted it before.
"Gahrie said...
Bergdahl still to come"
I don't think so. I don't think Obama wants a rehash of dad, sporting a Muzzie beard and speaking Farsi, in the Rose Garden, dozens of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers calling him a deserter and traitor, and the discussion of what the five assholes that we released have been up to.
@David Begley said...
Idea!
It's a commutation (e.g. reduction of sentence) not a pardon (elimination of the verdict and crime).
Dept of the Army, US Disciplinary Barracks, not BOP
Wasn't he/she really safer in prison? What does he/she think awaits him/her now?
Possibly a fatal encounter with the person who will be the recipient of President Trump’s first presidential pardon.
Pure leftist Who...Whom? Stealing military secrets and leaking them to Wikileaks (and Russians) during Bush administration: Hero
Benefiting even speculatively from Wikileaks release of DNC emails: Russian Pawn.
"even Obama isn't tone deaf enough to release Bergdahl."
What is the basis of this assertion? Obama is the Florence Foster Jenkins of politicians, both in the tone deafness, and obliviousness of same.
Bergdahl was discharged for psychological reasons from the Coast Guard after one month. But then he joined the Army. We don't screen these guys very well.
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-18-highest-ranked-comments-on-nyt.html?showComment=1484577912290#c7427613215556156135
Called it.
I guess wikileaks IS the most honest news supplier after all.
So Berghdahl does it, Cartwright does it, Hillary does it.
Who gives a crap about US secrets, not Barack Hussein Obama obviously.
Well I guess we won't have to pick up the tab for the rest of the sex change stuff.
The Drill SGT said...So if wikileaks releases Dept of State and DOD stuff, it's OK, but if they leak DNC stuff, we blame the Russians?
Yuuuup. Leaks harming America and/or the American military = done by freedom-loving whistleblowers. Leaks harming the DNC and/or a Democrat = treasonous actions by foreign-influenced traitors.
"rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to commit suicide "
Wont this make it easier for manning to commit suicide? And if manning does succeed you know it will be blamed on his imprisonment
If Manning would have remained male, would he have received this commutation?
traditionalguy said...This is just Obama smoke to distract from his wiring half a billion dollars of our money to the Environmental Hoax Scammers over at the UN, at the same time.
A billion, tradguy. This is the second payment of $500M we've sent. Remember all the fuss about the lack of funding for Zika? Ho-hum.
Politico: Obama Admin sends $500M to Green Climate Fund
Bergdahl was discharged for psychological reasons from the Coast Guard after one month. But then he joined the Army. We don't screen these guys very well.
Excellent point. I would not want to be the doc that qualified him. It happens though.
I disqualified a girl who another doc had qualified after she had been sent home from Marine basic for threatening suicide. That doc is no longer working for DOD.
"You had a leak? ... Boy, the last time there was a leak like this, Noah built hisself a boat." Absence of Malice 1981
Once again Obama shows he's all about politics.
mccullough said...or to the Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to leak either. Or to the head of the CIA.
It's not a justice system that gives a pass to guys like Cartwright and Petraeus to leak info to get laid from reporters.
What point do you think you're making? Both people in your example were prosecuted ie not "given a pass."
@PB
James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General: Now we'll talk all day if you want to. But, come sundown, there's gonna be two things true that ain't true now. One is that the United States Department of Justice is goin' to know what in the good Christ - e'scuse me, Angie - is goin' on around here. And the other's I'm gonna have somebody's ass in muh briefcase.
So why is Snowden a hero among Trumpists then, Drill SGT? Why is Assange a hero among Trumpists? Explain that.
He would have let Chelsea out right away but she really had to finish feminizing her voice at taxpayer expense.
Does that NYT article about how "bleak" prison was for Chelsea make more sense to everyone now?
Finally, Cartwright can thank Chelsea Manning for his pardon. Balance, you see.
Vast left wing conspiracy? No, they're just idiots.
"So why is Snowden a hero among Trumpists then, Drill SGT?"
He is? Not to me, though I'm probably a pretty weak Trumpist. I do think you are making this up.
Teresa1960 said...
So why is Snowden a hero among Trumpists then
Not to me, though I'm not a "Trumpist"
Yes David, most people here and elsewhere who are Trump supporters, speak highly of Snowden and Assange. Why haven't you noticed?
Call me when he pardons Charles Manson. But please, not in the middle of the night.
Ask the Alt Right about Snowden and Assange.
Freeman Hunt said...
They do say women get lighter sentences.
Top five all time comment, funny division..
Is Mumia or whatever still alive? If so, any odds for his pardon?
commutation impacts sentence not the conviction.
I don't like it. He should have a smoking hole in his forehead, but.....it's almost like the Army is stepping to the curb to scrape the shit off their shoes.
Imagine the clutching-of-pearls when the little fucktard successfully commits suicide while in government detention.
Blogger David said...
"So why is Snowden a hero among Trumpists then, Drill SGT?"
He is? Not to me, though I'm probably a pretty weak Trumpist. I do think you are making this up.
There were aot of prior Obama voters who voted for Bernie and then voted for Trump who support wikileaks and manning, etc.
I'm not sure too many of us Trump supporters on this site fit that mold though.
Perhaps she can clear that up. Who here are both Trump supporters and Snowden/Assange supporters?
I consider myself Alt Right, btw. Although I was a Cruz supporter more than a Trump supporter.
But I don't support traitors.
Since the commutation is inchoate, that is, release is not effective until May, and since the power of commutation belongs to the office of president, not to the person holding the office, and since further a good argument can be made that a prisoner has no vested right in an unexecuted commutation (but might have one once actually released), I should think that the commutation could be withdrawn by President Trump.
Petraeus received no prison time and had the Espionage Act charge dropped. Cartwright pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in exchange for dropping the Espiinage Act charge dropped. Neither received a prison sentence. Petraeus will get his pardon this week as well. Just like Deutsch got pardoned. No prison for any of these guys. They are Too Important to Jail.
If Obama and dems work quickly, they still have time to transfer more uranium to Russia and Iran as well as drop off a couple more pallets (yes, PALLETS) of cash to the Iranian regime. After all, those rockets/mines developed for Hamas/Hezbollah are not just going to build themselves!
It's not a justice system that gives a pass to guys like Cartwright and Petraeus to leak info to get laid from reporters.
They were punished. Who got the "pass"?
Why do Trumpists consider Snowden a hero? Snowden gave secrets to Russia. "His leaks had value", yes to Russia.
NSA spies on you more than you had any idea and intel chiefs lie under oath about it = not whistle-blowing.
Embarrass the media = MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE!!
Snowden is a spy for Russia. He ran straight to their consulate in Hong Kong with millions of classified documents. The NSA stuff he gave Greenwald isn't a fraction of what he made off with. The guy is a traitor.
He's a better American than Clapper.
Why was the stuff Manning leaked considered "classified"?
Not my concern. Does he have the power to determine it should not be?
"No prison for any of these guys"
Nor it seems for the former Secretary of State, who exposed infinitely more secret material over a much longer period to a far greater and more inimical audience. Petraeus at least passed his limited stock of material only to his mistress who also had a security clearance, though not for the material in question.
"Why was the stuff Manning leaked considered "classified"?"
Diplomatic cables are always some level of "classified". AFAIK.
I'm with David French at NRO:
[Manning] disclosed details of American military operations, the identities of American military allies, and placed sensitive American diplomatic relationships at risk. We may never know exactly how much damage he did.
No matter how troubled Manning is (and he’s certainly troubled), he breached faith with his brothers in arms. Armies depend on bonds of trust, and he knowingly and intentionally placed lives in danger by indiscriminately placing our nation’s secrets in the public domain. He risked American lives. He risked allied lives.
It’s not that long ago that actions like Manning’s would merit execution, and he should be grateful that he merely received a 35 year sentence. Instead, however, both the Times and the Obama administration treat him more like a messed-up kid than a soldier who betrayed his nation. ...
Manning isn’t a woman in need of rescue. He’s a soldier who committed serious crimes. He wasn’t a “whistleblower,” as many of his defenders claim. He just dumped hundreds of thousands of classified documents into the public domain for the purposes of “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms” without the slightest regard for the lives of others. There is no excuse.
Manning is a traitor who pled guilty to a lesser offense to avoid the full penalty for his crimes. He has received too much mercy already. Obama’s commutation of his sentence is a disgrace.
Are there betting markets for this sort of thing? I wonder what the odds are that Blago gets pardoned?
How was Cartwright punished? He just got pardoned. That's not punishment. That's a gift.
Blago will get his sentence commuted, like Manning and Scooter Libby.
Military leaks? - No big deal.
DNC leaks? - Nothing worse!
Obama should have pardoned the Puerto Rican terrorist a little bit earlier. Would have helped Hillary in Florida!
http://theresurgent.com/republicans-apologize-to-edward-snowden/
But not content to merely latch themselves to the vodka-laced teat of Mother Russia, many Trumpist Republicans have doubled down by aligning themselves with WikiLeaks’ Assange. Notwithstanding that Assange is, personally, an alleged rapist. Notwithstanding that "Assange, professionally, has long threatened to leak information that might put U.S. troops in jeopardy the world over—much like Snowden. Frankly, Assange’s long history of trying to hold hostage American interests makes him little different than a state-sponsored terrorist like Kim Jong Un. Assange is, indisputably, an enemy of the West.
But Republicans apparently don’t care. Sarah Palin now sees fit to “apologize” to Assange. Sean Hannity flies to London so that he can get an “exclusive behind-the-scenes” interview with Assange.
This is not just disgustingly hypocritical, disgustingly partisan, and disgustingly evidentiary of forfeited principle. It’s also just plain disgusting."
"And here was Ben Shapiro, over at the Daily Wire:
Assange, lest we forget, bragged about the fact that WikiLeaks could be responsible for the deaths of Americans and American allies abroad. He’s an alleged rapist and a longtime ally of Vladimir Putin; in 2011, Putin gave Assange a visa, and in 2012, Assange worked to cover up a payment from Syria to Russia. Back then, Fox News’ Sean Hannity dubbed Assange a quasi-terrorist and asked why the government couldn’t stop him; today, he flies to the Ecuadorian embassy in London to interview Assange, then says, “I believe everything he says.”"
Notwithstanding that Assange is, personally, an alleged rapist.
So was a former President and the husband of the person you feel should be in the WH.
I wonder what comes next for Chelsea. She'll get a good advance for the book. Meryl Streep with her extraordinary range is a natural for the movie that will be made of it. Maybe Chelsea gets to be the go to voice for the transgendered and appears on every talk show telling the world about her troubles finding the right bathroom. I think she'll have a flurry of fame and money, but I wouldn't bet that her life will have a happy ending.......So far as the next pardons go, I would recommend Suge Knight and Phil Spector. Their music has brightened so many lives, and it's not like they killed anyone important. I think that if left to go free they could make important contributions to society and the Obama Library.
Asange and Snowden are heros to Trumpists, yet are outraged over the commutation of Manning's sentence.
Explain.
Bill, Republic of Texas said...
Is Mumia or whatever still alive? If so, any odds for his pardon?"
I don't believe he can, since Mumia was convicted in a state, not a federal court. Perhaps one of the lawyers here can confirm that.
If Obama can, he certainly will.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/assange-man-in-the-news/512243/
"It’s not that unusual for a public figure to go from hero to villain. But going from villainy to heroism? That’s a tougher road to traverse.
Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and central figure, has managed to do both over the last few months, culminating in a remarkable embrace by the president-elect and two longtime critics on the American right, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin. Over the same time, some of Assange’s erstwhile champions on the American left have drifted away, disillusioned by the way WikiLeaks attacked Hillary Clinton during the presidential election. Has Assange changed, or is his rehabilitation on the right, and his loss of esteem on the left, simply a factor of political exigencies within the United States? The answer is a little bit of both."
McCullough said:
"And Obama should pardon Bergdahl as well. The military needs to do a better job of screening out the mentally unstable."
Kind of like the DNC should have done a better job of protecting its server?
"I should think that the commutation could be withdrawn by President Trump."
There's a fight he does not need to pick. I'm pretty sure he realizes he needs to spend political capital on more important issues.
And I thought my contempt for Obama couldn't get any higher after hearing about him sending more Gitmo terrorists back to the battlefield the other day (or Oman -- same difference), and throwing Cuban refugees back to the tender mercies of their homeland by abolishing wetfoot-dryfoot. Just when I think he's reached the top of his mountain of shit, he craps out a higher peak. Commuting the sentence of a traitor. Sickening.
Teresa is terribly wee- wee'd up because John Podesta's dirty laundry was aired and embarrassed the DNC (the only thing that died was any remaining illusion of Democrat and media integrity), but she doesn't give a shit that people were murdered by the Taliban as a result of Manning's leaks.
Explain.
And please stop pretending you care about this country's security. You care about nothing but the Democrats remaining in power.
Last Obama presser tomorrow. I want to hear him spin this. And also watch the press go easy on him.
Who facilitated Manning's leaks? Wikileaks, your heros.
"Who facilitated Manning's leaks? Wikileaks, your heros."
The intervention of Assange was indeed something of an unlooked for benefit from an erstwhile enemy force.
Sort of like hearing of the Soviet victory at Stalingrad. Very helpful that.
"If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." - Winston Churchill
So, Bradley Manning's sentence is commuted.
Who was sentenced for a Water Closet crime? Was it Bradley or his alt-ego, Chelsea?
Will sentences for his original or alt-personality or both be commuted?
And I thought my contempt for Obama couldn't get any higher after hearing about him sending more Gitmo terrorists back to the battlefield the other day (or Oman -- same difference), and throwing Cuban refugees back to the tender mercies of their homeland by abolishing wetfoot-dryfoot. Just when I think he's reached the top of his mountain of shit, he craps out a higher peak. Commuting the sentence of a traitor. Sickening.
It's worse.
Obama committed us to a law enforcement pact with Cuba. We are now the enforcers for a modern day Fugitive Slave Act.
They still haven't identified Deep Plunger. The source of the Water Closet leak remains unknown.
As for Podesta, he was caught hook, line, and sinker during a Nigerian phishing expedition. The information revealed what was already known. The DNC is a party of [class] diversity and political arm of the Pro-Choice Church.
Ukraine is still occupied by NATO forces. The axis of terrorism from Benghazi to Aleppo to Kiev remains viable.
Meanwhile, the abortion chambers and Planned Parenthood remain open for business. No sentences will be commuted. No convictions pardoned. Off with their heads!
I'd like to know if Assange will now hold up his end of the bargain. He said he'd allow himself to be extrdicted to the US if Obama freed Manning. What will Trump do with Assange? Palin and Hannity obviously are Assange fans now.
Obama committed us to a law enforcement pact with Cuba. We are now the enforcers for a modern day Fugitive Slave Act.
However, I assume, we don't get our Cop Killers returned?
Perhaps if we had asked.
But Obama isn't one to attempt to negotiate. Unilateral surrender is his speed.
Obama really does hate this country.
I can tolerate the Manning commutation - but if he pardons Bergdahl -- angry blog comment to follow!
He's running out of time to pardon Hillary. Or maybe, given who he is, just for fun, he'll pardon Bill, but not Hill.
If Chelsea reverts to male, will Bradley have to return to Ft Leavenworth?
I think it makes all the Democrats pretending Trump isn't legitimate because of Wikileaks look like chumps.
The Hillary pardon will be the headliner
Chelsea Manning should change his name to Tanya Harding.
tho - he does have a Chelsea Clinton thing going on.
I support the pardon of General Cartwright.
I would be ok with the pardon of Snowden. I don't support everything he did, but he gave American citizens information we deserved to have.
" Blogger Teresa1960 said...
Yes David, most people here and elsewhere who are Trump supporters, speak highly of Snowden and Assange."
I was a reluctant Trump supporter, although thanks to some on here, I'm much more in tune now.
I don't speak "highly" of either. I don't support either. I think both should be imprisoned.
Obama also pardoned this guy:
At some point in the 1970s, López Rivera became a member of the clandestine FALN. The group set off bombs at government and corporate buildings, and left communiques in phone booths calling for a "free and socialist Puerto Rico." The majority of the bombs damaged property without causing injuries or deaths, but not all of them.
The FALN's most deadly attack was in January 1975 — the bombing of a crowded restaurant in New York's financial district called Fraunces Tavern. The bomb killed four and injured 60, leaving law enforcement scrambling to find the perpetrators.
"It was truly the first truly clandestine terror organization that we confronted and we had no clue as to how to approach this," said Rick Hahn, a former FBI agent assigned to the FALN case. "They were very sophisticated and we didn't realize it, and I think that was part of the problem we had in identifying FALN members — false hair items, reversible clothing ... professional make-up kits, that sort of thing."
In 1976, the FBI found an apartment linked to López Rivera containing dynamite and FALN written materials. López Rivera went into hiding, and wasn't apprehended until five years later.--------
----------------
Lin Manuel Miranda has decided to play Hamilton in Chicago as a tribute to Lopez Rivera. I'm glad I'd already decided not to see Hamilton for purely entertainment reasons. Otherwise I think this would make me not want to see it for political reasons.
What do Trump and Snowden have to do with each other?
Obama--going all out for the tranny vote. Poor soul thinks he is still campaigning.
Washington Post's Charles Lane thinks Obama is going to return Guantanamo Bay to Cuba.
Ben Rhodes went there in the last few days, but the WH denies he discussed Gitmo with Cuba. We'll see.
Allegedly, the Manning pardon was Michelle's request.
Cuba hasn't cashed a lease payment for GITMO since 1959. They can have the land back. Just kill KSM before we leave.
"What do Trump and Snowden have to do with each other?"
Putin
The entertainment value and irony-fest of Judith Miller complaining about this makes it all worthwhile
They do say women get lighter sentences.
The corollary of "Does my butt look big in this?".
After eight years of loyal service to the empire, Obama finally, when it can have no political cost to him, has done something truly admirable and humane. If only he would do the same for Snowden. He won't.
Well, for the first and only time in his presidency, I can say kudos to Barry.
One last (almost, probably not - Bowe Bergdahl is waiting for his phone to ring) insult to the citizens of the United States and its Armed Forces on his way out the door. Manning betrayed his country and Obama thinks that this is normal behavior. Every person that I know of who is in the Armed Forces has no respect for their current Commander-in-Chief for crap like this that is a slap in their face. I only hope that the incoming Commander-in-Chief blocks Manning's gender re-assignment procedure while he/she is still under the control of the Army. Manning can pay for it himself after he is dishonorably discharged (assuming that Obama didn't change this discharge status as part of the commutation) - maybe he can find an Obama-Care plan that will help cover this. I am guessing that there are a number of soldiers who would be happy to provide Manning his gender re-assignment surgery with their army knives and give him two shots of whiskey and a bullet to bite on for the pain...
Robert Cook: Anti-American since before Obama made it cool.
Althouse is fine with this. She thought Obama was so lovely, she was advance missing him back in October. A lovely, lovely man.
Birkel, I'm more of an American than you'll ever be. I actually believe in the ideals of American feeedom and justice. You and your ilk are servile bootlickers to power, violent in your impulses, coarse in your thinking,
She's getting out. I trust Obama to get this right. I trust Trump with nothing and surely not the presidency. I'm an atheist, but now is not the time. Please God do something to stop that awful man! I suggest a mini-asteroid to minimize collateral damage. Those who are standing next to him get what they deserve.
"Washington Post's Charles Lane thinks Obama is going to return Guantanamo Bay to Cuba."
Be tough to do in three days IMO. How would he do it, open the gates? Would the soldiers obey the order? I wouldn't bet on it if I were Obama.
Robert Cook:
You love America the same way an abusive husband loves his wife. Perhaps if America didn't make you so mad you wouldn't have to smack her around so much. Maybe America will learn to get your dinner to the table on time. True love!
Robert Cook said...
Birkel, I'm more of an American than you'll ever be. I actually believe in the ideals of American feeedom and justice. You and your ilk are servile bootlickers to power, violent in your impulses, coarse in your thinking,
You are being too harsh here. Birkel is just a harmless dummy.
Personally, I am on the side of the troglodytes on this one, but Manning is a basket case, not much purpose was being served by keeping him in jail.
"AReasonableMan":
I assume you are using words with definitions you have created in your own mind. That makes communication impossible. Fare thee well.
(I am using random, unique definitions for my words too, in your honor.)
Great tweet by Kurt Schlichter: "Vets are Obama's Charmin."
The VA - where Democrat corrupt lackeys pocket all sorts of bonuses while our vets die.
I suggest a mini-asteroid to minimize collateral damage. Those who are standing next to him get what they deserve.
Modern Progressives.
Manning will have a hard time fitting into society being such a freak. And worse yet, there isn't a circus to run off and join anymore.
"Manning has never expressed remorse."
Actually, he did...at his sentencing. I understand his desire to mitigate his sentence, but there's no need for him to express remorse. Manning's action was more heroic than anyone in the Bush or Obama administrations, or than any by any of the generals running the wars.
Those who are standing next to him get what they deserve.
1/17/17, 8:31 PM
I expect Obama and Michele will be standing next to him from time to time, so if the mini-asteroid hits then, I'll agree with you.
"Well, I guess that get's the taxpayers off the hook for funding her voice training."
What makes you think that?
I don't think you get benefits if you're dishonorably discharged, and I doubt this is covered by medicaid.
Teresa1960 said...
Who facilitated Manning's leaks? Wikileaks, your heros.
Who doesn't give a shit about American security and releases terrorists?
Obama. Your hero.
He hates America as much as you do.
Personally, I am on the side of the troglodytes on this one, but Manning is a basket case, not much purpose was being served by keeping him in jail.
The purpose would be as a warning to the next person who wants to open the national kimono as a paean to himself.
exiledonmainstreet said...
Teresa1960 said...
Who facilitated Manning's leaks? Wikileaks, your heros.
Who doesn't give a shit about American security and releases terrorists?
Obama. Your hero.
He hates America as much as you do.
But not as much as wikileaks.
But not as much as wikileaks.
1/17/17, 9:12 PM
I never thought Assange was pro-American.
And actually, I do, in fact, believe Obama hates America just as much as Assange does.
I actually believe in the ideals of American feeedom and justice.
Me too!
Saying over and over that Snowden is a hero to Trump supporters doesn't make it true.
Teresa1960: So why is Snowden a hero among Trumpists then, Drill SGT? Why is Assange a hero among Trumpists? Explain that.
This is a fake news media meme. None of these traitors and creeps are considered heroes by anyone I know or care about. They are not generally viewed as heroic by any conservatives or Republicans. You can repeat it and ask the stupid questions over and over but no one cares. This is one of those liberal fantasies that progressives use to comfort themselves and sling the word "hypocrite" around but is essentially meaningless to 99% of Americans.
What exactly is a Trumpist, Teresa?
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