© Susana Vera / Reuters
Less than two days after announcing that former US Army soldier and whistleblower Chelsea Manning would join the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics as a visiting fellow, the university rescinded the offer.
The reason should anger anyone who claims to be a fan of free speech and free thought.
Shortly after the initial offer to Manning was made public, former deputy director and acting director of the CIA, Mike Morell, resigned his senior fellowship in protest, claiming he could not be part of an organization that "honors a convicted felon and leaker of classified information."
Not long after, current CIA Director Mike Pompeo cancelled a speaking appearance at the university minutes after it was due to begin. His excuse was the same. In a letter
posted on Twitter, Pompeo announced that his
"conscience and duty" would not permit him to betray the trust of his CIA colleagues by
"appearing to support" the decision to hire Manning as a fellow.
The next day, the dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, Douglas W. Elmendorf, suddenly saw the light and
announced that inviting Manning to be a visiting fellow was a
"mistake" for which he takes responsibility. This was after rambling on for three paragraphs about how Harvard welcomes a
"wide range of views" and never shies away from controversy.
Comment: More tweet fails from the Spawn of Killary: