Chelsea Manning Released From Jail But Another Stint May Be On The Horizon
Chelsea Manning has been released from jail after being in custody for refusing to testify in front of the grand jury regarding WikiLeaks. However, it sounds as if Manning’s freedom may not last all that long.
NPR details that the former military intelligence analyst was released from jail Thursday afternoon after the term for the grand jury involved expired. However, Manning’s legal team referenced a new subpoena that has already been received related to a new grand jury being empaneled.
According to People, Manning spent 62 days in a Virginia jail after refusing to testify. The grand jury has wanted answers from Chelsea regarding her WikiLeaks ties, and her refusal to answer the questions found her facing contempt and custody in jail.
During the 62 days Manning spent in the Virginia jail, her legal team filed a couple of motions designed to try to gain her release. However, Chelsea remained behind bars until the grand jury’s term expired this week.
Now, a tweet from Chelsea’s Twitter account notes that a second subpoena has already been served. Manning is supposed to appear on May 16 in front of a new grand jury, but her lawyers say it is to answer the same questions from the last round of issues. An official statement from Manning is said to be pending.
** Feds released Chelsea a few hours ago after Grand Jury expired – @EDVAnews prosecutors subpoenaed her to appear a 2nd time for a different grand jury – but for same questions – on May 16th – official statement from her pending https://t.co/BkXDxnrLmZ
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 10, 2019
Manning’s lawyers indicate that Chelsea will continue her refusal to answer any of these questions regarding her involvement in WikiLeaks. In addition, her legal team will continue to fight and argue that she has just cause to refuse to provide testimony that is being demanded.
Before she was taken into custody in March, Manning insisted that she had already provided answers via extensive testimony during her 2013 court-martial. Chelsea went on to say that she objected to the pending questions and felt they violated her statutory rights as well as her First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment rights.
In addition, Chelsea has said that this refusal is a protest against the “entrapment and persecution (of) activists for protected political speech.”
** As lawyers file a new motion, Chelsea continues to receive warmth & strength from colleagues, educators, lawyers, diplomats, activists, factory workers, vets, journalists, union leaders, store clerks & politicians from the US & all around the world. https://t.co/6QaSS38FIF
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 7, 2019
As The Inquisitr detailed several weeks ago, a federal appeals court judge recently rejected a request from Manning to be released. Despite the fact that Chelsea claimed her rights were being violated by the subpoena, the judge ruled that Manning would stay in jail until she testified or until the grand jury was no longer sitting.
Manning has previously been offered immunity, but she insists she has already revealed what she knows. It is not clear at this point how and when this battle between Chelsea Manning and the Virginia courts will ultimately be resolved.
