Manning seeking presidential pardon
Print Edition
US soldier Chelsea Manning is seeking a presidential pardon for sending classified information to WikiLeaks, which she says she did “out of a love for my country and sense of duty to others,” according to documents released yesterday.
Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, sent the Petition for Pardon/Commutation of Sentence on Tuesday to President Barack Obama through the US Justice Department, and to Army Secretary John M. McHugh.
The White House said last month that any Manning request for a presidential pardon would be considered like any other.
Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, is serving a 35-year sentence for disclosing the classified military and diplomatic information while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.
It was the largest-volume leak of classified material in US history. Manning got the longest sentence ever for disclosing US government secrets to others for publication.
The Obama administration has cracked down on security breaches, charging seven people with leaking to the media. Only three were prosecuted under all previous presidents combined.
Manning signed the petition with her legal name, “Bradley Manning,” not Chelsea. Coombs has said anything having to do with the pardon or court-martial would have to be in Bradley’s name. Prison officials say Manning would have to get a legal name change to be known as Chelsea.
Manning has said she wants to live as a woman and receive hormone therapy for gender dysphoria — the sense that she is physically the wrong gender.
Manning wrote in the petition she started questioning the morality of US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan while reading secret military reports daily in Iraq.
Manning acknowledged she broke the law, adding, “I regret if my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States.”
At Manning’s trial, government witnesses testified that some of the leaked information endangered information sources, forced ambassadors to be reassigned and were used as al-Qaida propaganda.
Documents submitted in support of Manning’s petition include a letter from Amnesty International.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
