President Donald Trump slammed convicted secrets leaker Chelsea Manning on Twitter Thursday as an "ungrateful traitor" for writing a column criticizing the leadership of former President Barack Obama, who commuted her prison sentence before leaving office last week.
Manning is the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of stealing 750,000 pages of sensitive documents and videos and distributing them to WikiLeaks most of whose remaining prison term was commuted by Obama in the final days of his presidency.
In the column published online by The Guardian of Britain on Wednesday, Manning wrote that Obama's "vulnerable" legacy is a reminder that "what we need is a strong and unapologetic progressive to lead us." Manning also said that now the U.S. is "moving into darker times" — an obvious reference to Trump.
Manning, a transgender woman, was held at the men's military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. She is set for release in May after serving nearly seven years of her 35-year term.
Obama commuted Manning's sentence despite a recommendation from Ash Carter, his defense secretary, not to do so.
Manning "took responsibility for her crime" and the punishment was "very disproportionate" compared "to what other leakers had received," Obama said, adding that "I feel very comfortable that justice has been served and a message has still been sent."
Trump disagreed with Obama’s action.
Mediaite reported that Trump issued his tweet 14 minutes after a Fox News Channel report about Manning's column.
CNN's Brian Stelter also tweeted an observation about the timing of Trump's tweet.
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