Federal Judge Anthony Trenga ordered Chelsea Manning to be released from jail. He concluded the grand jury no longer needs her to appear for testimony. Sadly, this did not come before she attempted suicide. But Chelsea is free.
The federal judge did not waive the $256,000 fine issued against her for resisting the grand jury empaneled against WikiLeaks. She will now struggle with destitution and poverty, but at least she will no longer be in a jail cell.
This is a victory against abusive grand jury process. She stood on her principles and remained unwavering, even when her own mental and physical health was at risk. She resisted in order to defend press freedom. And she ultimately won, though it exacted a traumatic toll on her.
The U.S. government lost. They wanted nothing more than to haul before grand jury and force her to say words that could be used against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Prosecutors will have to wait to call her as a prosecution witness if Assange is brought to U.S. for trial.
