Help us fund Chelsea’s legal appeals and build a movement for government transparency!
June 15, 2014. By the Chelsea Manning Support Network.
Dear Supporter,
The Chelsea Manning Support Network (formerly Bradley Manning Support Network) was founded early in 2010 by individuals who realized that government secrecy has reached dangerous levels, and that military whistleblowers deserve the strongest public defense we can give them. Since the early days of Chelsea Manning’s arrest, our Network has relied on grassroots support to raise 100% of the cost for a comprehensive legal defense and public education efforts. Thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors and volunteers around the world, we built a political movement, and are gearing up to begin one of the fiercest appeals efforts the world has ever seen.
However, in order for Chelsea Manning to finally receive justice, we must raise $300,000 to sustain a rigorous appeals process that will leave no stone unturned. Chelsea has chosen well-known civil rights attorney Nancy Hollander and her law partner Vincent Ward to lead these efforts, and they are eager to begin:
The Chelsea Manning Support Network also needs your help to continue our public education and political support efforts.
Our staff are in direct contact with Chelsea Manning. We are working to make sure that her prisoner rights are respected, and to give her a voice in the public arena. We want to ensure she is still able to advocate for government transparency and reform despite the heavy restrictions the Army has placed on her contact with the news media. Thanks to our press liaison efforts, the New York Times today published Chelsea’s powerful thoughts on a new proposed Iraq intervention.
Finally, we must continue organizing public pressure for President Obama to pardon Chelsea. Obama’s actions toward whistleblowers has been criticized often, and for good reason. However, his last year of office is when it will be most politically feasible for him to make a better move. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times Editorial Board have all called Chelsea’s sentence “excessive.” With your help we can build a coalition and mobilize an effort too powerful to ignore, creating the national situation needed for Obama to pardon Manning, Snowden, and other whistleblowers who his administration has wronged.
To provide support to Chelsea in prison, maximize her voice in the media, continue public education and build a powerful movement for presidential pardon we must raise another $120,000 this year.
Dear Supporter,
The Chelsea Manning Support Network (formerly Bradley Manning Support Network) was founded early in 2010 by individuals who realized that government secrecy has reached dangerous levels, and that military whistleblowers deserve the strongest public defense we can give them. Since the early days of Chelsea Manning’s arrest, our Network has relied on grassroots support to raise 100% of the cost for a comprehensive legal defense and public education efforts. Thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors and volunteers around the world, we built a political movement, and are gearing up to begin one of the fiercest appeals efforts the world has ever seen.However, in order for Chelsea Manning to finally receive justice, we must raise $300,000 to sustain a rigorous appeals process that will leave no stone unturned. Chelsea has chosen well-known civil rights attorney Nancy Hollander and her law partner Vincent Ward to lead these efforts, and they are eager to begin:
“We are honored, humbled and excited to be Chelsea Manning’s appellate lawyers. We have had the opportunity to meet Chelsea in-person at the Fort Leavenworth, KS facility where she is currently serving her sentence, and we are confident that we will work well together. We are planning to spend a great deal more time working closely with her as we prepare her appeal… This appeal is far from a mere formality. I have agreed to devote the significant time and energy that will be necessary for this case only because I believe that we have a chance to reverse her conviction….
The Espionage Act—always a poorly written and often-abused law—has now become little more than a trap to ensnare those who embarrass the government. Chelsea’s espionage conviction alone requires that she appeal her case, not only for her sake but for the sake of all Americans. The way the court interpreted the espionage charges in Chelsea’s case completely fails to distinguish between providing information to harm the United States and sharing information in the public interest. Unless we act to reverse the misuse of this statue in Chelsea’s case, the stage has been set to incriminate any American whistleblower who reveals wrongdoing to the media.”
You can read Nancy Hollander’s statement in full here.The Chelsea Manning Support Network also needs your help to continue our public education and political support efforts.
Our staff are in direct contact with Chelsea Manning. We are working to make sure that her prisoner rights are respected, and to give her a voice in the public arena. We want to ensure she is still able to advocate for government transparency and reform despite the heavy restrictions the Army has placed on her contact with the news media. Thanks to our press liaison efforts, the New York Times today published Chelsea’s powerful thoughts on a new proposed Iraq intervention.
Finally, we must continue organizing public pressure for President Obama to pardon Chelsea. Obama’s actions toward whistleblowers has been criticized often, and for good reason. However, his last year of office is when it will be most politically feasible for him to make a better move. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times Editorial Board have all called Chelsea’s sentence “excessive.” With your help we can build a coalition and mobilize an effort too powerful to ignore, creating the national situation needed for Obama to pardon Manning, Snowden, and other whistleblowers who his administration has wronged.
To provide support to Chelsea in prison, maximize her voice in the media, continue public education and build a powerful movement for presidential pardon we must raise another $120,000 this year.
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