WASHINGTON -

An Army general is upholding Private Chelsea Manning's conviction and 35-year prison sentence for giving reams of classified U.S. government information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

The Military District of Washington said Monday that Major General Jeffery Buchanan has taken final action in the court-martial of the former intelligence analyst from Crescent, Oklahoma.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted in July 2013 of 20 crimes, including six violations of the Espionage Act, but was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy. As commander of the jurisdiction in which the trial was held, Buchanan could have approved or reduced the court-martial findings.

His action clears the way for an automatic appeal to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Manning's appellate lawyer said the sentence was excessive compared to past cases.

7/30/2013 Related Story: Bradley Manning's Hometown Reacts To WikiLeak Case Verdict

With good behavior, the 26-year-old former soldier could be released as early as February 2020, according to her trial attorney, David Coombs.

Continued here:
Private Chelsea Manning's Conviction, 35-year Sentence Upheld

A general has refused to reduce the sentence on the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst convicted as Bradley Manning of leaking classified documents.

The Pentagon said Monday that Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan approved the 35-year sentence, rejecting a request for clemency. Manning, who now goes by the name Chelsea and has said she is female, is being held at the U.S. Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.

Manning was convicted by a military judge of leaking 250,000 diplomatic cables and 500,000 military documents to WikiLeaks while serving in Iraq. Published material from his leaks is credited with helping kickstart the Arab Spring demonstrations since it included U.S. cables giving an unflattering picture of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Col. Denise Lind acquitted Manning of aiding the enemy but found him guilty of most other charges and sentenced him to 35 years.

Nancy Hollander, Manning's lawyer, said she had not expected much from the automatic military appeal process. She said she plans to continue appeals.

President Obama has said he will not make any decision on executive clemency until Manning's appeals are exhausted, a process that could outlast his presidency.

Manning is seeking court approval of the name change in Kansas.

[Politico]

------

Original headline: General rejects clemency appeal for Manning in leak of classified documents

Read more:
No Clemency for Chelsea Manning

Politics Military Army Private First Class Bradley Manning is escorted out of a military court facilityduring the sentencing phase of his trial Aug. 20, 2013 in Fort Meade, Maryland. Mark WilsonGetty Images

The U.S. Army has declined a request for clemency from the soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning, who was convicted last year of leaking a massive amount of classified government data to the whistle-blowing group WikiLeaks.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchannan approved the 35-year sentence handed down by Judge Denise Lind in Mannings court martial in August 2013. Buchannans decision was issued Thursday but announced to the public Monday.

Manning was convicted of 20 separate offenses, including violations of the Espionage Act, but acquitted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, which carried a sentence of up to life in prison. The 35-year sentence levied against Manning is the longest sentence imposed on someone for leaking information to the media in American history.

Manning and her supporters are also pursuing other avenues to reduce the leakers punishment, including a clemency request with President Barack Obama and a military appeals process that could terminate in the U.S. Supreme Court.

At the time of her conviction, Manning was known by the first name Bradley. She has since formally requested a name change to Chelsea and indicated to the public that she identifies as female.

Excerpt from:
U.S. Army Rejects Clemency for WikiLeaks Source Manning

The amorphous nature of wars since at least the dawn of the Cold War in the mid-1940s has meant that the U.S. has more or less been at war for generations. This, in turn, has precipitated the ever-burgeoning war-industrial-intelligence complex.

"Listen, all these kids here with a piece, I'd written a line in a song on my last record about "Kids with Uzis, ice suckers, Death is a always thing." You can't get away from that mess. Whatever the kids got, the adults put them in their hands. They don't know what the hell they're doing, the kids."

I have tended to see whistleblowers as courageous individuals performing an often useful function, but also as slightly crazy vigilantes who were participating in that conspiracy against confidentiality, and thus against privacy.

Our state of affairs goes against a pinnacle of American justice, equality before law, facilitating everything from war crimes, to torture, to domestic spying, to a predatory, ravenous Wall Street that feeds on the middle class with impunity.

My fellow Americans: I deliver this address at a time of great distress in our nation. Never before have we faced challenges of such severity as we d...

It is one year since the death of 26-year-old Aaron Swartz, the renowned computer programmer, writer, political organizer and Internet activist. People all around the world are remembering Swartz

Ruair McKiernan

The rest is here:
Bradley Manning : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News ...

31 March 2014 Bradley Manning JX2 MOV

By: Robert Lee Pearce

Read more:
31 March 2014 Bradley Manning JX2 MOV - Video

Navy Database Tracking Civilians: "Banana Republic"
Guilt by association for journalist who interviewed Al Qaeda, death by hacking medical devices and closing arguments in the Bradley Manning case. http://wash...

By: TheAlexJonesChannel

View post:
Navy Database Tracking Civilians: "Banana Republic" - Video

Trial of Bradley Manning
Presentation 2.

By: JLozeau123

View original post here:
Trial of Bradley Manning - Video

U.S. U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning is escorted out of a military court during the sentencing phase of her trial in Fort Meade, Md., on Aug. 20, 2013 Mark WilsonGetty Images

Bradley Edward Manning, the U.S. Army private who was convicted of leaking classified military information to WikiLeaks, has petitioned a Kansas court to formally change her name to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning.

The petition was announced on Wednesday by the Private Manning Support Network, which also said it is changing its name to the Chelsea Manning Support Network. A hearing on the request has been scheduled for April 23 in Fort Leavenworth, where Manning is currently serving a 35-year sentence.

Manning declared in August that she wanted to be treated as a woman while incarcerated and that she would, if necessary, go to court for the right to obtain hormone treatment. Military prisons dont provide treatment issues related to gender assignment because transgender soldiers are not allowed to serve.

[AP]

See original here:
Chelsea Manning Petitions for a Name Change

The Army private who was tried and convicted as Bradley Edward Manning for leaking U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks is petitioning a Kansas court for a name change, to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning.

Leavenworth County District Court has scheduled an April 23 hearing on the request, according to a Leavenworth Times legal notice sent Wednesday to The Associated Press by a spokesman at Fort Leavenworth, where Manning is serving a 35-year sentence. The petition was filed Jan. 27 and published March 1 after it was submitted by Manning's lawyer, David Coombs of Providence, R.I.

Coombs didn't immediately respond to questions about the petition. Manning said in an October letter to supporters that Coombs would help her with the name change.

The Private Manning Support Network announced the petition on its website Wednesday. The group also said it is changing its name to the Chelsea Manning Support Network.

Officials at Fort Leavenworth have said Manning would have to get a legal name change to be known as Chelsea.

The Associated Press has referred to Manning as Chelsea since shortly after she announced in August her desire to be known by that name and treated as a woman. Manning has been diagnosed by at least two Army behavioral health specialists with gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder.

In addition to the name change, Manning has asked to receive hormone replacement therapy and live as a woman while incarcerated. She and Coombs have said they will go to court, if necessary, to obtain the hormone treatment.

Civilian federal prisons are required to provide such treatment, if deemed medically necessary, for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Unlike in military prisons, the policy also allows inmates who believe they are the wrong gender to dress and live accordingly as part of their individual treatment plans.

The military has said it does not provide treatment for gender dysphoria because Pentagon policy dictates that transgender soldiers are not allowed to serve. But Manning can't be discharged until she's released from prison and exhausts appeals of her criminal convictions.

The former intelligence analyst was sentenced in August to 35 years for leaking battlefield video and hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and State Department diplomatic cables while serving in Iraq.

More here:
Pvt. Bradley Manning, convicted in WikiLeaks case, seeks formal name change to Chelsea

Leavenworth County District Court has scheduled an April 23 hearing on the request, according to a Leavenworth Times legal notice sent to The Associated Press by a spokesman at Fort Leavenworth, where Manning is serving a 35-year sentence. The petition was filed Jan. 27 and published March 1 after it was submitted by Manning's lawyer, David Coombs of Providence, Rhode Island.

Manning has been diagnosed by at least two Army behavioral health specialists with gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder.

In addition to the name change, Manning has asked to receive hormone replacement therapy and live as a woman while incarcerated. He and Mr Coombs have said they will go to court, if necessary, to obtain the hormone treatment.

Civilian federal prisons are required to provide such treatment, if deemed medically necessary, for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Unlike in military prisons, the policy also allows inmates who believe they are the wrong gender to dress and live accordingly as part of their individual treatment plans.

The military has said it does not provide treatment for gender dysphoria because Pentagon policy dictates that transgender soldiers are not allowed to serve. But Manning can't be discharged until he's released from prison and exhausts appeals of his criminal convictions.

The former intelligence analyst was sentenced in August to 35 years for leaking battlefield video and hundreds of thousands of classified Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and State Department diplomatic cables while serving in Iraq.

Edited by Bonnie Malkin

The rest is here:
Bradley Manning seeks formal name change to Chelsea