Manning is unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate

I found the offer from Chelsea Manning to “put herself out there” as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Maryland (“8 years after leaking thousands of classified documents, Chelsea Manning is running for U.S. Senate in Maryland,” Feb. 20) rather disturbing. Here we have a person who decided on her own to release hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents to “provoke debate about U.S. foreign policy.” As a person who dealt with classified documents over a 50-year career, I find her actions unconscionable.

The penalties for what she did are covered explicitly in Sections 793, 794, and 798 of Title 18 United States Code. Check it out – she should be in prison (in peacetime) or condemned to death (in wartime). She would have signed an acknowledgment that she read these sections of Title 18 and accepted the responsibility to safeguard documents entrusted to her. I do not know if any U.S. personnel lost their lives as a result of the leaked documents, but it is entirely possible. She has proven at least one thing: She cannot be trusted. That point aside, what are her qualifications? She certainly did not exhibit any leadership, knowledge, sound judgment or exemplary personal traits as a low-ranking individual in the Army — and as a Vietnam veteran I would shake my head in disgust if she calls herself a veteran.

So here we have a totally unqualified, extremely untrustworthy, attention-seeking person who will address crime in Baltimore where she “favors reducing the police presence.” Not sure what her other strategic focus will be, but I’ll bet it’s a winner. Despite the poor performance ratings and general opinions of our state and federal legislators, this is seeking a new low. I hope our Maryland citizens recognize the shallow appeal and denounce this candidate.