Latest in Chelsea Manning
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has rejected Chelsea Manning's appeal of the district court order finding her in civil contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury. The order is available below.
Chelsea Manning, held in civil detention since her refusal in March to comply with a grand jury subpoena in Virgina federal court, has filed a motion for release pending appeal of her civil contempt charge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The motion is available here and below.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has unsealed several filings concerning Chelsea Manning's challenge to a subpoena in that court. Manning was found to be in civil contempt on March 8 after declining to answer questions before the grand jury and has been imprisoned.
By the time you read this, a firestorm may—or may not—be breaking out over President Obama’s decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence. We’re not sure what the reaction is likely to be, to be honest. Predictably many of Manning’s supporters are jubilant. Senate Republicans have already condemned the decision, though President Trump and certain conservatives have recently converted to the Wikileaks cause.
This morning, NBC News reported that Chelsea Manning is on the short list for a possible commutation from President Obama. Back in September—with much attention focused on a Pardon Snowden campaign—we advocated he consider commuting Manning’s sentence. At the time, we wrote: