Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell has resigned as a senior fellow at Harvard University after the school announced Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst behind one of the largest leaks of classified information in history, would join the class of visiting fellows for the new academic year.
Efforts by CNN to reach Morell were unsuccessful.
Manning was released from prison in May after then-President Barack Obama commuted her 35-year sentence.
Responding to Morell’s resignation, Manning tweeted «good» with the hashtag #WeGotThis.
Morell, who worked at the CIA for decades, also said that he fully supports Manning’s rights as a transgender woman and her right to serve in the military, as well as the right of Harvard’s Institute of Politics to invite anyone they choose for the fellowship program.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was also announced as a visiting fellow for the year, along with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign manager and current CNN political commentator Robby Mook and Kansas City Mayor Sly James Jr., Harvard said in a news release Wednesday.
