Trump says ‘Ungrateful TRAITOR’ Chelsea Manning should stay in prison
President Trump has attacked Barack Obama’s decision to free trans whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
In one of his final acts of office, outgoing President Barack Obama communed the sentence of Pvt Chelsea Manning, who had been imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth military prison after leaking classified government documents concerning alleged war crimes and rights abuses via WikiLeaks.
Manning, who announced her transition to female in 2013, has been denied the right to transition behind bars, leading her to make several suicide attempts.
She is set to be released in May when her commuted sentence expires, but new President Donald Trump attacked the sentence today.
He tweeted: “Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should never have been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible!”
Trump was referring to a column in the Guardian penned by Manning from prison, which claims “Barack Obama’s legacy is a warning against not being bold enough”,lamenting his “very few permanent accomplishments”.
Manning’s commutation cannot be revered by Trump, who would have to find new grounds to charge her.
The new President’s suggestion that she is a traitor is Trump’s latest reversal on the subject.
Trump previously praised Wikileaks for publishing illegally hacked emails from the Democratic National Convention – casting doubt over the future of any speculative case against Wikileaks sources for hacking-related charges in the US.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has hinted that he may collude with the US authorities under Trump, suggesting he does not expect a hostile policy from the new President.
