WASHINGTON, Jan.17, 2017
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest
veterans organization criticized President Obama's decision today
to commute the sentence of an ex-soldier convicted of violating the
U.S. Espionage Act along with many other charges.
Chelsea Manning served in the
U.S. Army as Pvt. Bradley Manning
before being arrested and sentenced to 35 years at Fort Leavenworth
for leaking a classified video to the website WikLeaks.
"Anybody who has ever served in the U.S. military understands
the seriousness of protecting classified material," said
National Commander Charles E.
Schmidt of The American Legion. "Private Manning put
American lives at risk. Manning was convicted of 20 out of 22
charges. Releasing this prisoner sends precisely the wrong message
to all Americans who are entrusted to keep our national secrets
secret."
Schmidt, a retired Air Force officer and Vietnam War veteran,
also expressed "serious concern" over the pardon of Gen.
James Cartwright, who pled guilty in
October to one charge of making false statements to federal
investigators after he was accused of leaking top secret
information.
"General Cartwright had a long and distinguished career but
would he have been treated the same if he were a sergeant?" Schmidt
asked. "These inexplicable moves do nothing to discourage future
offenders from violating their oaths to protect America's national
security. The American Legion is hoping that President Obama is not
considering more commutations and pardons of this nature before he
leaves office on Friday."
With a current membership of 2.2 million wartime veterans, The
American Legion, www.legion.org, was founded in 1919 on the four
pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs,
Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the
betterment of their communities through more than 13,000 posts
across the nation.
Media contacts: John Raughter
(317) 630-1350 / 317-441-8847 (cell),
jraughter@legion.org or Michael Dorsey (202) 263-5758,
mdorsey@legion.org
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SOURCE The American Legion