Chelsea Manning Seeking US Senate Seat
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
She’ll challenge neocon undemocratic Dem Ben Cardin in Maryland’s primary - scheduled for June 26.
Four other declared candidates in the race include Jerry Segal (Federal Election Commission member); Richard Vaughn and Debbie Wilson (Maryland Board of Elections members).
Possible other candidates include House members Elijah Cummings and John Sarbanes, along with Maryland House of Delegates member Heather Mizeur.
On January 17, Obama commuted Manning’s unconscionable sentence - waiting until days before leaving office instead of responsibly intervening straightaway on her behalf.
Manning was arrested, imprisoned and brutalized for exposing US Afghan and Iraq war crimes, her show trial a travesty of justice, her mistreatment a national disgrace.
Information she revealed included:
- the Collateral Murder video, exposing the killing of unarmed Iraqi civilians by a US Apache helicopter crew;
- the Afghan War Diary, revealing uninvestigated civilian casualties and private military contractor abuses;
- the Iraq War Logs, revealing civilian casualties and uninvestigated reports of torture; along with
- US diplomatic cables, explaining corporate interests and espionage in international diplomacy.
She should have been honored instead of sentenced to longterm imprisonment.
Her attorneys Nancy Hollander and Vincent Ward explained she served the longest sentence in US history for whistleblowing - enduring draconian punishment for doing the right thing.
Free at last, Manning said she’s prohibited from discussing any of her leaked material, explaining “technically, I can’t read, comment on, discuss, or even look at any leaked material, even if it was after 2010.”
Explaining why she leaked sensitive documents, she said “I have a responsibility to the public.”
“We all have a responsibility. We’re getting all this information from all these different sources and it’s just death, destruction, mayhem.”
“We’re filtering it all through facts, statistics, reports, dates, times, locations, and eventually, you just stop.”
“I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people.”
In response to her commutation, Trump disgracefully tweeted: “Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should never have been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible!”
So far, she hasn’t commented on her Senate bid. She’s been outspoken about speech and other fundamental freedoms, including gay, lesbian and transgender rights.
Freed from imprisonment, she moved to Maryland, shortly after filing documents with the Federal Election Commission as a Democrat.
She’s a refreshing alternative to neocons infesting both houses, on the right side of vital issues.
Win or lose, her candidacy makes a statement for peace, equity and justice - values almost entirely absent in Washington.
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