President Trump on Thursday slammed transgender intelligence secrets leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning as an “ungrateful traitor” and said Manning should not have been released from prison.
“Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should never have been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Former President Barack Obama recently commuted Manning’s sentence so she will be released in May, rather than in 2045. Republicans and others said such a move could encourage others to leak classified information.
Manning wrote a column this week in which she said Mr. Obama seemed perpetually willing to compromise during his presidency with political opponents who were determined to undermine him.
“Now, after eight years of attempted compromise and relentless disrespect in return, we are moving into darker times,” she wrote in The Guardian.
“The one simple lesson to draw from President Obama’s legacy: do not start off with a compromise,” she wrote. “They won’t meet you in the middle. Instead, what we need is an unapologetic progressive leader.”
WikiLeaks, the organization to which Manning had given the information, said in response that Mr. Trump is “wrong.”
“Manning was found innocent of ’aiding the enemy’ & Pentagon admitted under oath no-one harmed,” the organization said on Twitter.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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