Topic: Charlie Savage

Chelsea Manning received a 35-year prison sentence, the longest ever handed down in the United States for leaking government secrets to the media. New York Times reporter Charlie Savage notes that this sentence is a categorical departure from historical precedents, such as the two-year sentence given to a Navy analyst in 1984 or the probation and short jail terms seen in other recent leak cases. The severity of the punishment is contrasted with sentences given to actual foreign spies, suggesting a strategic effort by the administration to create a deterrent effect.