Chelsea Manning Issues Dire Warning about Assange’s Arrest

Facing the possibility of being imprisoned yet again in the coming days for refusing to testify before a secretive grand jury, U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning on Sunday warned of the grave threat the Trump administration poses to press freedoms.
“I think that ultimately what they really want is, they want to go after journalists,” Manning said during an interview on CNN when asked whether the Trump administration’s effort to extradite WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange to the U.S. is a danger to the free press.
“This administration clearly wants to go after journalists,” Manning said. “I think that if the administration gets its way… we’re probably gonna see indictments and charges.”
“Whenever a journalist makes a misstep,” she added, “I think that they’re put on notice now that the FBI and the Department of Justice are going to go after them, on the administration’s behalf.”
Watch:
“This administration clearly wants to go after journalists,” says Chelsea Manning @xychelsea.
Manning was just released from prison but faces another subpoena and possibly more jail time for refusing to testify about her disclosure of secrets to Wikileaks https://t.co/so8MiPQYQH pic.twitter.com/HiCYUOIF3M
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) May 12, 2019
As Common Dreams reported, Manning was released from jail on Friday after being held for 62 days—including a month in solitary confinement—for refusing to testify before a grand jury.
On CNN, Manning said she plans to fight a second subpoena to testify that was issued before she was even released from jail. According to Manning’s legal team, she could be held in contempt of court and sent to jail again as early as Thursday, May 16.
“I think that all grand juries are improper,” Manning told CNN‘s Brian Stelter. “I don’t like the secrecy of it.”
Wait, before you go…If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.