Chelsea has been released from prison...for now

Chelsea Manning has been released from jail, but she may be back in a week

Whistleblower and former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning is no longer in jail — but that could change as early as next week.

According to a press release from Manning’s attorneys — via Sparrow Media — she was released from the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center in Alexandria, VA earlier today, after spending 62 days in jail for refusing to testify about WikiLeaks after being subpoenaed for an ongoing investigation.

But according to Manning’s attorneys, today’s release is on a technicality — the grand jury’s term in the new case has expired, but she’ll be back in court (and if she refuses to testify again, possibly behind bars) as soon as next Thursday when a new grand jury arrives.

“Unfortunately, even prior to her release, Chelsea was served with another subpoena. This means she is expected to appear before a different grand jury, on Thursday, May 16, 2019, just one week from her release today,” they explain.

But she was given a new subpoena before she left and will need to appear to a new grand jury on Thursday, May 16. Chelsea says that she will never testify against Wikileaks so "further confinement serves no lawful purpose and must be terminated.”

What an incredibly brave person Chelsea is to stand up to her principles even though it has cost her so much.

Her attorneys have filed a motion declaring that she will never cooperate with a grand jury.

According to Moira Meltzer-Cohen, attorney to Chelsea Manning:

“A witness who refuses to cooperate with a grand jury subpoena may be held in contempt of court, and fined or incarcerated. The only permissible purpose for confinement under the civil contempt statute is to attempt to coerce a witness to comply with the subpoena, or “purge” their contempt. If it is no longer possible to purge the contempt, either because the grand jury is no longer in existence, or because the witness is un-coercible, then confinement has been transformed from coercive into punitive, in violation of the law.

“That her confinement has already been so arduous gives credence to her claim that she will endure great hardship rather than agree to cooperate.”

Included in the filing is a lengthy declaration by Chelsea explaining her position:

“After two months of confinement, and using every legal mechanism available so far, I can —without any hesitation— state that nothing will convince me to testify before this or any other grand jury for that matter. This experience so far only proves my long held belief that grand juries are simply outdated tools used by the federal government to harass and disrupt political opponents and activists in fishing expeditions…

“The way I am being treated proves what a corrupt and abusive tool this truly is. With each passing day my disappointment and frustration grow, but so too do my commitments to doing the right thing and continuing to refuse to submit…

“I believe this grand jury seeks to undermine the integrity of public discourse with the aim of punishing those who expose any serious, ongoing, and systemic abuses of power by this government, as well as the rest of the international community…”

“Over the past decade, I grappled with bouts of depression. I can think of nothing that could exacerbate those struggles more than pretending to live as someone I am not once again, and turning my back on everything I care about and fight for…

“I wish to return home. I want to return to my work — writing, speaking, consulting, and teaching. The idea I hold the keys to my own cell is an absurd one, as I face the prospect of suffering either way due to this unnecessary and punitive subpoena: I can either go to jail or betray my principles. The latter exists as a much worse prison than the government can construct.”

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Pricknick's picture

Too sad, that so few in this country will stand up against the wrong.
I bow, with respect and pride to her.
Bravery is not wielding a weapon made by humans but wielding a weapon of the human.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Away from this sick country. I'll be donating to whatever legal fund for her I can find.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Pricknick's picture

@lizzyh7
if she wants to run away.
A brave soul.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick thanks for that pic you sent below. She looks strong. Damn this country.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

@lizzyh7

Turned out, we have very long, strong, patient arms. And political asylum may well have become "quaint." As The Other Maven pointed out on another thread, England was the source of our own Constitution's habeas corpus, which the UK disgraced in its 24/7 surveillance of the embassy that initially granted Assange refuge and his arrest.

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Pricknick's picture

from your link snoop.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Lookout's picture

...as is Julian -
UN experts have called for Julian Assange to be released from prison and criticised the British government for breaching his human rights.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/may/03/un-calls-for-julian-assang...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

be tortured, then commuting her sentence. Should have pre-emptively pardoned Assange as well.
Then again, his administration was the most opaque to date, including being hard on whistleblowers.

The nation began without much apparent government worry about spies and such, even though spies on both sides were active during the Revolution and, for that matter, all along in the colonies.

During his single term, Adams encountered fierce criticism from the Jeffersonian Republicans and from some in his own Federalist Party, led by his rival Alexander Hamilton. Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and built up the Army and Navy in the undeclared "Quasi-War" with France. The main accomplishment of his presidency was a peaceful resolution of this conflict in the face of public anger and Hamilton's opposition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams

The acts were denounced by Democratic-Republicans and ultimately helped them to victory in the 1800 election, when Thomas Jefferson defeated the incumbent, President Adams. The Sedition Act and the Alien Friends Act were allowed to expire in 1800 and 1801, respectively. The Alien Enemies Act, however, remains in effect as Chapter 3; Sections 21–24 of Title 50 of the United States Code.[7] It was used by the government to identify and imprison dangerous enemy aliens from Germany, Japan, and Italy in World War II. (This was separate from the Japanese internment camps used to remove people of Japanese descent from the West Coast.) After the war they were deported to their home countries. In 1948 the Supreme Court determined that presidential powers under the acts continued after cessation of hostilities until there was a peace treaty with the hostile nation. The revised Alien Enemies Act remains in effect today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts

And then, along came propagandizer, war monger and racist Democratic President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, to whom I've decided to refer as T-WoW, and his several Democratic Congresses. And the Sedition Act of 1918.

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At the end the producer issued an impassioned plea to end the unAmerican Grand Jury system.

IMHO, you have the right to remain silent and the jury can draw it's own conclusions about that.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Alligator Ed's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness The grand jury system is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution but its draconian powers are not specified.

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