Chelsea Manning's impending freedom is making the internet's worst people very mad

By Katherine Krueger  |  January 18, 2017 | 3:09pm
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President Obama’s decision to commute the bulk of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence was met with joy around the world. It was also met by a particularly useless brand of person expressing their extreme displeasure at Manning, a transgender woman housed in a men’s facility, not serving out the harsh sentence that had already led her to twice attempt suicide during her seven years in custody.

It’s worth noting that during Manning’s trial, prosecutors could offer no evidence that the former Army intelligence officer’s disclosures caused a single death. What she did reveal were countless abuses of power and corruption among American diplomatic officials, a far higher death toll among Iraqi civilians than official estimates claimed, including the U.S. allowing detainees to be tortured while in Iraqi custody, and much, much more.

But it’s hard to understate how many ghoulish journalists, national security figures, and all-around awful Twitter people were rushing to smear Obama’s decision to free Manning from conditions considered torture by the United Nations as a PR move to keep the public correctness police happy, an egregious hit to national security, or worse.

Here is a list of some of the absolute worst offenders.

There were those hand-wringing about the lives lost because of Manning’s disclosures.

Ex-New York Times reporter Judy Miller, the original Fake News Ghoul:

(Ed. note: it is really something for the woman who HELPED START THE IRAQ WAR to go after anyone for causing peoples’ deaths.)

Ex-Air Force Force intelligence official Mike Himsworth:

Those who think Manning got clemency for being transgender

Conservative conspiracy theorist Mark Dice:

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny:

I think the question this president–the White House–will have to answer here, and I think it’s an important one, is how much was the personal story of Chelsea Manning involved in this? Because she transitioned from a man to a woman. I think that certainly played into this. Without that, it’s hard to imagine, I think, that this president would have done that.

Conservative blogger Esoteric Jeff:

Kurt Schlichter, right-wing internet bad man:

Erick Erickson, founder of RedState.com:

Ex-Breitbart editor John Nolte:

Imagine how the Bunny Manning pardon would feel if it was fat sociopath Hillary being sworn in Friday.
— CNN Lies & Is Hitler (@NolteNC) January 18, 2017

And those very, very worried about the impact of revealing such stunning abuses:

 
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