Overnight Defense: Obama defends Manning commutation after backlash | Mattis clears Senate panel
THE TOPLINE: President Obama defended his commutation of convicted former Army soldier Chelsea Manning’s sentence on Wednesday as Republicans lined up to blast the move.
During the final press conference of his presidency, Obama said “justice has been served” in Manning’s case.
“It has been my view given that she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime, that the sentence that she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers had received and that she had served a significant amount of time, that it made sense to commute and not pardon her sentence,” Obama said.
“I feel very comfortable that justice has been served,” he added.
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The Hill’s Max Greenwood has more on Obama’s comments here.
The White House announced Tuesday that Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for leaking classified information about U.S. national security activities that were disclosed by WikiLeaks. Manning, who has already served seven years, will now be released on May 17th, instead of in 2045.
President-elect Donald Trump’s team joined the chorus of Republicans opposing the decision, with incoming White House spokesman Sean Spicer saying Trump “is troubled by this action.” Vice President-elect Mike Pence called the decision a “mistake” and Manning a “traitor.”
The Hill’s Lisa Hagen has more on Spicer’s comments here and Nikita Vladimirov has more on Pence’s reaction here.
Veterans groups are also unhappy with the decision. The Hill’s Kristina Wong reports that Vietnam Veterans of America are upset Obama has chosen to pardon felons and not veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder that received less-than-honorable discharges, while the Veterans of Foreign Wars said Obama’s decision “upended” the military justice system.
MATTIS CLEARS SENATE PANEL: The Senate Armed Services Committee set retired Gen. James Mattis up to be confirmed as Defense secretary on day one of Trump’s presidency by approving his nomination Wednesday.
The committee voted 26-1 to recommend Mattis to the Senate, meaning the nomination, when made official after the inauguration, will go straight to the full Senate instead of being referred to the committee.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was the lone “no” vote.
The Hill’s Jordain Carney has more on the wheeling and dealing between senators to get Mattis and other Trump national security nominees a floor vote Friday. Read more about that here.
HALEY’S UN HEARING: It was South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s turn to face the Senate on Wednesday, as she answered questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a mostly friendly confirmation hearing to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The Hill’s Ben Kamisar was there and has the story:
Democrats spent less time during the four-hour hearing probing Haley, and more time asking questions that might drive a wedge between Trump and his proposed nominee, specifically in regards to the United Nations and the NATO, as well as on Russia.
“President-elect Trump has downplayed Russian attempts to influence our elections, suggested NATO is obsolete, openly rooted for the breakup of the EU, lavished praise onto Vladimir Putin,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
“Can you understand right now why the world perceives the Trump administration to be the exact opposite of clear in where we stand and strong in our values?”
Haley brushed aside those concerns as the typical “nervousness” surrounding a new administration, and said Americans should judge Trump by what he says after he takes office, not by his campaign rhetoric.
“It’s natural for a candidate or an incoming president to look at everything and to say things. Once you govern it becomes different,” she said.
“What he says after that will be most important.”
A SECRET SYRIA VISIT: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who’s made headlines in the past for her foreign policy views, made waves again Wednesday when it was revealed she visited Damascus.
Via The Hill’s Kristina Wong:
Gabbard secretly visited the capital of Syria on a “fact finding” mission to find an end to the six-year civil war there, according to Foreign Policy.
Gabbard’s spokeswoman, Emily Latimer, told Foreign Policy that the congresswoman “felt it was important to meet with a number of individuals and groups including religious leaders, humanitarian workers, refugees and government and community leaders.”
“Gabbard has long been committed to peace and ending counterproductive, interventionist wars,” Latimer said.
Latimer declined to say whether Gabbard met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose regime has been embattled by opposition rebels since 2011 in the wake of the Arab Spring.
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW:
Secretary of State John Kerry will give a farewell address to State Department employees at 3:30 p.m. To watch a livestream, visit state.gov.
ICYMI:
— The Hill: Paul, Lee call on Trump to work with Congress on foreign policy
— The Hill: Top aide: Obama worried about impeachment for Syria actions
— The Hill: Haley: No Muslim registry under Trump administration
— New York Times: Trump’s Army secretary pick was once accused of punching auction worker
— Associated Press: Guantanamo prisoner loses bid for release before Trump era
— Bloomberg: F-35’s ‘grotesque overruns’ are now past, says Pentagon’s chief at odds with Trump
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