The dean at the Harvard Kennedy School has decided to withdraw an invitation to have Chelsea Manning serve as a visiting fellow — but still invited the convicted leaker to give a talk at the school.
Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas ElmendorfGetty ImagesDouglas Elmendorf released a statement late Thursday claiming that it was a “mistake” to give Manning the designation.
“We are withdrawing the invitation to her to serve as a Visiting Fellow — and the perceived honor that it implies to some people — while maintaining the invitation for her to spend a day at the Kennedy School and speak in the Forum,” he wrote.
“I apologize to her and to the many concerned people from whom I have heard today for not recognizing upfront the full implications of our original invitation.”
The decision came hours after former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell announced his resignation as a senior fellow at the university due to its decision to honor Manning.
Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, was convicted of leaking military intelligence records.
She spent seven years in prison before President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in January.



