Jose Luis Magana/Reuters
Michael Morell, former deputy director of the CIA, resigned from his senior fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy school on Thursday in protest of the organization’s hiring of Chelsea Manning. “I cannot be part of an organization... that honors a convicted felon and leaker of classified information,” Morell said in a statement. “The Kennedy 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.” The school announced yesterday that Manning has been hired as a visiting fellow for the academic year. The former U.S. Army soldier served seven years in prison for releasing confidential military and state department documents. President Obama commuted her initial 35-year sentence shortly before he completed his term.