Obama: Chelsea Manning Commutation Was ‘Entirely Appropriate’

President Barack Obama speaks during his final presidential news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Barack Obama said at his final press conference on Wednesday that “it made sense to commute” Chelsea Manning’s sentence rather than pardon her.

“Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence,” Obama told reporters. “It has been my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime, that the sentence that she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers had received and that she had served a significant amount of time, that it made sense to commute and not pardon her sentence.”

He said that he felt “very comfortable” about the precedent he set by commuting the bulk of Manning’s remaining sentence.

“I feel very comfortable that justice has been served and that a message has still been sent,” Obama said. “Wherever possible, we need folks who may have legitimate concerns about the actions of government or their superiors or the agencies in which they work, that they try to work through the established channels and avail themselves of the whistleblower protections that have been put in place.”

He said that he did not see a contradiction between his commutation of Manning’s sentence and his stance on WikiLeaks, either.

“First of all, I haven’t commented on WikiLeaks generally,” Obama said, referring to the site’s role in publishing emails from Democratic groups which were hacked during the election.

“I don’t pay attention to Mr. Assange’s comments. And I refer you to the Justice Department for any criminal investigations, indictments, extradition issues that may come up with him,” he added.

The President also advocated striking a balance of accountability, openness and transparency while taking into account the intentions of hostile foreign actors.

“With respect to Chelsea Manning, I looked at the particulars of this case the same way I have with the other commutations and pardons that I have done, and I felt in light of all the circumstances that commuting her sentence was entirely appropriate,” he said.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: