Thread by @BBuchman_CNS

ICYMI: In an affidavit, Chelsea Manning says nothing will convince her to testify before a grand jury, a tool which she says is an "outdated" device used by the federal govt to "harass and disrupt political opponents and activists."
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…

In early March, Manning was jailed after refusing to answer Qs before a grand jury regarding the 2010 Wikileaks disclosure.
Keep in mind, Manning has already served 7 years for that leak. In this matter, Manning contends she's already said everything she can say.

Manning: "After two months of confinement and using every legal mechanism available so far, I can - without hesitation - state that nothing will convince me to testify before this or any other grand jury for that matter."

She continues: "I believe this grand jury seeks to undermine the integrity of public discourse with the aim of punishing those who expose any serious, ongoing, and systemic abuses of power by this government, as well as the rest of the international community,"

While the US goes for an Assange extradition from EDVA, prosecutors handling the Manning matter here have not yet offered any public explanation for their pursuit of Manning's testimony. All they have said is that there is an ongoing investigation.

In a separate filing requesting her release, Manning's atty notes:
"The recalcitrant witness statute sets 18 months as the maximum term of
confinement, but that is not to say that all confinement up through 18 months is
definitionally coercive..."

"...although a long civil confinement does not in itself constitute a due process violation, a witness is not required to demonstrate unusual circumstances in order to show that confinement has lost its coercive impact."
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…

Several letters were also included with Manning's affidavit. Including one from her former attorney, Chase Strangio.
"Ms. Manning would likely die before giving in to a demand that she believes to be unjust...

"Her incarceration in Kuwait & then Quantico & the USDB very nearly killed her & yet she never wavered in her commitment to a strong sense of justice," Strangio writes, adding there is no doubt Manning would risk her lifeagain...

"...before testifying or engaging in a process that violated her principles."
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…

Trevor Timm, exec director at the Freedom of the Press Foundation writes:
"Chelsea has already suffered immensely in both military and federal detention. Over 250 law professors described the military’s treatment of her before her trial in 2013 as torture.”

"She served seven years in prison after her trial, under the longest
sentence ever for a defendant accused of giving information to journalists or
publishers," Timm writes in the May 6 letter supporting Manning's release from prison.
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…

Manning's aunt, Debra van Alstyne, has not seen seen or spoken to her niece since last summer and they have not discussed Manning's possible testimony to the grand jury, but in a May 5 letter in support of her release, she describes the struggles Manning endured growing up.

It shaped Manning to be who she is today however and this, van Alstyne says "with absolute certainty" indicates Chelsea would endure "indefinite confinement" rather than comply with an unjust order.
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…

William Budington is a friend of Manning's and senior staff technologist who advises the Electronic Frontier Foundation on digital civil liberties.
"Chelsea has shown many times, both in public & in private conversation, that her decision to leak classified docs to the press...

",,,was a decision based on her moral conviction & commitment to protecting not only the American people but people around the world."
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…

In another letter from Micah Lee, a journalist at The Intercept, Lee says whether one agrees with Manning's actions or not, Manning's decisions have been principled ones.

Lee: "As an Army intelligence analyst, she witnessed undeniable war crimes, like the video of the aerial weapons team killing several civilians including Reuters journalists & firing on a van w/children in it, all while laughing and acting like they were playing a video game."

The leak in 2010 was made in hopes of "sparking a domestic debate" about the crimes being committed by U.S. soldiers, Lee also notes.

He continues: "She made up her mind then too. Regardless of the great personal risk she was taking, she couldn't stay silent with the knowledge of these crimes and did what she believed was the right thing to do."
documentcloud.org/documents/5991…