Will Obama pardon Bradley Manning?

Snowden has thanked Obama for Manning's pardon.

Of course, Obama can't pardon Snowden since Snowden hasn't been convicted of anything.
But I do hope he's had a little chat with Angela Merkel, say, to get him the hell out of Russia.
All Donald would have to do is say the word and Putin would hand Snowden over.

Donald is on record, I think, as expressing admiration for Assange. But I'm sure that's cold comfort to Snowden.

Obama can pardon Snowden. He doesn't have to be convicted or even charged.

What was Nixon convicted of again when Ford pardoned him? Okay, what was he charged with? Didn't think so.

Zombie and Chaos beat me to it.

That is a lie, one of many being circulated by the US authorities about Snowden.

Nevertheless, this is excellent news and credit to Obama personally for it.

No word about anyone named "Bradley" though.....

On point, a commination rather than a pardon was the right call. The record should not be cleared, but seven years in Levenworth is no cakewalk either. There's a debate to be had over whether 7 years is enough, but it's a lot closer to the right point that thirty-fucking-five was. If she hadn't gotten that much, she probably wouldn't have gontten the commutation.

Thank you, that's an important point. I've been thinking of this as practically a pardon, which it absolutely is not. That also lessens my first reaction that in comparison to Snowden, this is less of a positive signal. But the cases are more dissimilar than they first appear.

Well, this is news to me. I honestly thought otherwise. And I'd forgotten about Ford. Jesus, now that was a Deal.

Well what the fuck, then? If Obama can pardon Manning, why the hell can't he do the same for Snowden?
I mean, any misdeed he can hold against one he should hold against both.
Has he made any attempt to explain this?

Unlike Manning, Snowden kept his mouth shut for a long time.
Naturally, you can't have whole rooms full of Mannings or Snowdens. There is such a thing as legitimate national security. But when there is clear and massive abuse, and two people blow the whistle, how can you pardon/protect one and not the other?

In what respect? One was military, the other wasn't, but both were sworn to secrecy. And if they throw the book at Snowden, it won't be a pretty picture.

And given what's now arriving in the White House, I would be pardoning all sorts of people.

All of that is true.

My specific concern here was that pardoning Manning while not pardoning Snowden would send the wrong signal, as if what the latter did was less forgivable. But as @Nova points out, Manning isn't pardoned at all. While Snowden could be pardoned without being charged, there is no sentence to commute. Obama isn't saying that Manning did nothing wrong, but that she has paid her debt to society (or will have done so in a few more months' time).

I see. Well then I have to wonder whether it is in Obama's power to ordain that should Snowden go home and face trial, he would get no more than period X of jail time.

That way, Obama isn't leaving himself open to the accusation of pardoning anyone, merely ensuring that someone who has performed a service while breaking the law isn't punished too harshly.

Again, while some of Manning's stuff was definitely 'upworthy', a lot of it was sheer incontinence. Whereas Snowden was saying Whoa! This is simply Cyberwarfare gone Berserk.

I don't think so; but he could just pardon him outright.

Of course, Obama has said before then he won't pardon Snowden, and Trump has said he definitely will. These are strange times.

I've seen it stated, not sure how credibly, that she will have served a longer term than anyone previously has for a comparable offense by the time she is released.

An interesting perspective, from someone who went through basic training with her:

https://huwieler.net/2017/01/18/chelsea-manning-in-basic-combat-training/

I also owe Oldfella a huge apology because I honest to God thought he was exaggerating how much the Army was willing to overlook to keep a body in the military. Holy fucking shitballs,she was an unmitigated disaster from the minute she set foot at BCT.

No apology needed Anna! BTW I loved the article coming from one of her platoon members. It really throws a light on the character of Chelsea Manning. For a point of reference, my son was 5'5" and about 130 when he joined the Army. He was the smallest (or tied for smallest) guy in his platoon. And he went through basic at Ft. Benning GA which is run by grunts/infantry.
But here's the game changer......my son has no "quit" in him. No doubt about it Chelsea Manning was not fit for military service - no way, no how. This has jack squat to do with sexual orientation or gender identification. My son's platoon had an OPENLY GAY guy in it. Occasionally the drills would say "gay guy!" The gay would say "yes, Drill Sergeant?" loud & proud. And the Drill Sergeant would say "you're all right!" My point being nobody gives a shit about your sexual issues - they want to see your fighting spirit. Apparently Manning had none.

Another factor to consider - when Manning went through basic training the war was still going full-bore. Everyone was going to make it through basic training. Sad but true.

Yet another factor - being a drill sergeant is a big career boost! Getting promoted is very difficult, and you have to be competitive. A successful tenure as a drill sergeant puts you ahead of your peers.
Somebody doesn't make it through basic training, the blame is often put on the drill sergeant. The army does not want to hear "some people are not meant to be in the army." If the recruiters (who are also under stress to meet a quota!) get a person into the army (knowing they are unfit in the long run) then you the drill sergeant must be at fault if little Johnny doesn't make it through basic training. This means everyone gets through army basic training, especially during war time. The recruiters and drill sergeants (all experienced NCO's) know in their heart that some people are not cut out to be in the army - but they cannot do shit about it as long as the recruits pass the PT test. Yep - you can't shoot straight? We can fudge that. But the PT test is harder to fudge - and since it is body-weight based a thin, light person (pushups, situps, 2 mile run) will often score as high as a heavier, muscular person. So if Manning didn't fail a PT test, she was going to graduate, period.

I wish there was an angryrep I could use for that post.

The shortest response to all of that is those not fit for military service are a drain to everyone around them. People have to do more work because they can't or won't get qualified or won't do anything they're told (which is distinctly different from someone asking why they're having to do something or asking why it's done a certain way...that to me shows some sense of fucking engagement).

Me, my Achilles heel was losing and keeping weight off. And I'm not the gal that could max out the PRT and fail tape by a half-percent, so I did the right thing for myself and the service by getting out.

Smart move then. If you know your difficulty (weight) will only get more complicated as you get closer to retirement, be realistic about it. One of the reasons my son got out after his contract was up - he was having back troubles and being an NCO and having permanent (or constant) training restrictions is a career buster. He saw all the older NCO's burned out and hurting just trying to keep it together until retirement - that's no way to live!

too late tonight for me to read the article but just based on what y'all are saying, let me throw out this bit of insight: One of the things that plagues MTF trans people is this - the idea that you can simply "man up" and beat it. Demographically speaking, more of us are veterans than in the gen pop because the desperate hope is that the military will "make a man out of you" and you won't have to live with the shame of thinking you should be a girl.

It doesn't work.

But the sorry side effect, for the other solders, is that now you are trapped in the hyper-masculine world that only magnifies your distress. Some (see Kristen Beck) step up, others fall apart.

Quoted for truth.

There's a lotta barely closeted gays in the service for that reason as well.

Tell me of this hyper-masculine world you speak of...... Sorry but the army certainly is not - maybe the other branches are these days. But I will say that the army can "make an adult out of you" as far as teamwork, responsibility, etc. But unless you are going into some elite program (special forces or rangers or something) then there's not much "macho" shit going on. That would be a career-buster because sexual harassment awareness is a huge priority. The army might be a little crude and loud and blunt and aggressive at times compared to some civilian office environment, but if you are doubting your masculinity and think it will make you "more of a man" you will be disappointed. But it will test you and bring the best out of you, whoever you are (gay, female, straight, whatever combination you might be).

But enough about the US Navy.

FWIW, the Navy was the most tolerant to the idea of gays in the military in polls prior to the repeal of DADT.

There's a reason why "it's not gay if it's underway" exists.

Well, yeah.

They had the most experience.

Of the ass.

@Volpone really missed out.