Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell resigned Thursday from his position at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, one day after the school announced it would bring Chelsea Manning to its Institute of Politics as a visiting fellow for the upcoming year.
Morell, a fellow at Kennedy’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said in his resignation letter that he could not be part of an organization “that honors a convicted felon and leaker of classified information.” Morell spent more than 30 years in the CIA, describes himself as neither Democrat nor Republican, and served both President Bush (as intelligence adviser) and President Obama (two stints as acting CIA director).
“Ms. Manning was found guilty of 17 serious crimes, including six counts of espionage, for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks,” Morell wrote. “Senior leaders in our military have stated publicly that the leaks by Ms. Manning put the lives of US soldiers at risk.”
In a press release, the Institute of Politics called Manning a “network security expert and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst” and advocate for “queer and transgender rights.”
“As an institution, the Kenedy School’s decision will assist Ms. Manning in her long-standing effort to legitimize the criminal path that she took to prominence, an attempt that may encourage others to leak classified information as well,” Morell wrote. “I have an obligation to my conscience—and I believe to the country—to stand up against any efforts to justify leaks of sensitive national security information.”
Other Institute of Politics visiting fellows this year will include Clinton campaign strategist Robby Mook, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandkowski, and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough.
