CIA Director Mike Pompeo canceled his appearance Thursday at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government following the appointment of Chelsea Manning as a visiting fellow, saying if he showed up it would betray the trust of CIA employees.
Manning was convicted of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, and served seven years in military prison before former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence, saying he felt justice had been served. Pompeo had been scheduled to discuss global security concerns, including North Korea's nuclear program and Russian meddling in elections, but just minutes before he was set to speak, the school's dean, Douglas Elmendorf, told the audience he was not going to appear.
Pompeo, a Harvard Law graduate, said in a letter he did not make the decision to not show up lightly. Manning is transgender, and was known as Bradley Manning when she was convicted, and Pompeo said his decision had nothing to do with her gender identity but rather how WikiLeaks is a U.S. adversary "akin to a hostile foreign intelligence service." Manning is a "traitor to the United States of America and my loyalty is to the officers of the CIA," he said. "Harvard's actions implicitly tell its students that you too can be a fellow at Harvard and a felon under United States law."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Former acting director of the CIA Mike Morell, a senior fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, resigned on Thursday in protest of Manning's appointment, saying he couldn't be part of an organization that "honors a convicted felon and leaker of classified information."
-
October 9 editorial cartoonsCartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include common political ground over the Epstein files, a new pledge for ICE agents, Bad Bunny, and more
-
Five policies from the Tory conferenceIn Depth Party leader Kemi Badenoch has laid out the Conservative plan for a potential future government
-
A House of Dynamite: a ‘nail-biting’ nuclear-strike thrillerThe Week Recommends ‘Virtuoso talent’ Kathryn Bigelow directs a ‘fast-paced’ and ‘tense’ ‘symphony of dread’
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
