Everyone likes a man in uniform
The US soldier convicted of providing secret files to WikiLeaks is hoping that the man who is responsible for a crackdown in government leaks will let him out of jail early.
Chelsea, formerly known as Bradley, Manning has asked for a presidential pardon from President Barack Obama. In a letter to the White House, Chelsea’s brief wrote:
“I urge you to consider this matter closely and to take a positive step towards protecting whistleblowers who release information to the media for the public good by either reducing Private Manning’s sentence to time served, or by granting him a full pardon.”
The application includes a supporting letter from Amnesty International. No one is really expecting this to happen. Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, pointed out that the government had a “full-bore approach” to prosecuting Manning. If they did let him go, then they would look quite schizoid.
