I believe Trump can reverse the commutation or at least has a clock at which he can. Manning, I think passed the fine line between treason and being a whistle-blower. I think Snowden skirted the line without having crossed it.
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I don't agree. Not only did he reveal classified information, but he gave that classified information to a foreign entity. I don't think we can use the content of the information leaked to determine how wrong it was to leak it. It is a serious crime, as it should be. If he felt that compelled to share the information then he should have holed up with a hostile foreign government like Snowden did. They are both traitors, IMHO.
One of the many interesting and fascinating fall outs from the election will be how the American public views these types of leaks moving forward. Can't wait until the approval / disapproval numbers completely seesaw from previous political party alignments.
I honestly can't remember much about the reaction to the information she leaked. It's been awhile. My main issue is the timing. I get that Obama has 3 days left in office (God save us), but it couldn't be worse timing for our credibility on issues pertaining Russia and Wikileaks.
Government whistle blowing is a tough issue for me the more I consider it. One one hand it seems inherently treasonous, on the other hand sometimes we need checks and balances on our government. I would be more inclined to sympathize with Manning or Snowden if they had leaked their info differently. For example by sending it out to all members of Congress or a major American media outlet instead of giving it to that piece of shit Assange.
We also are about to enter into an administration in which we will probably need as many checks and balances on abuse of power as possible. This is going to be an interesting 4 years. Trump is entering office with historically low approval ratings while the outgoing President is seen favorably by 60% of the population. He has a string of dubious cabinet picks and has appointed his children to key positions in his administration. He still hasn't really cleared up the conflict of interest concerns with this business. I wonder what Vegas odds are on Trump actually seeing out the full term?
I think Trump's appointments have been pretty solid other than perhaps DeVos. Which is too bad, as I had high hopes for her. And I don't think his kids are going to be in the administration are they? Eric and Don will run the Trump Organization. I know Ivanka's husband will be an advisor, but I didn't think Ivanka herself got a particularly meaningful role. And even if she did, Ivanka seems pretty great, so I would not be too concerned there.