Whistle-blower Chelsea Manning will risk returning to jail if she refuses to comply with new subpoena
- Manning says she ‘does not like the secrecy’ of being asked to appear to testify before a grand jury
Chelsea Manning will risk being returned to jail this week by refusing to comply with a new demand from the US government to testify before a grand jury, she said on Sunday.
In an interview with CNN’s Reliable Sources, Manning said she would not comply with a subpoena from federal prosecutors in Virginia to testify on Thursday about her interactions with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.
“I am going to refuse,” said Manning. “I think that this grand jury is an improper – I think that all grand juries are improper. I don’t like the secrecy of it.”
Manning was released from a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, this week, after serving 62 days for contempt of court. She was jailed after refusing to testify for prosecutors who appear to be considering further criminal charges against Assange.
Even before leaving jail, Manning was issued with a fresh subpoena ordering her to appear before the grand jury, according to her lawyers. The grand jury is due to meet on May 16 in Alexandria.
Asked on Sunday if she would be back in jail next weekend, Manning said that depended on whether a motion to quash the subpoena, filed by her attorneys, was successful.