Chelsea Manning, Sean Spicer Among Visiting Harvard Fellows

Chelsea Manning and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer have been named, among others as visiting fellows at Harvard University, the school announced Wednesday. The visiting fellows normally attend school functions, lead study groups and talk about their own particular background specialties.

“We welcome the breadth of thought-provoking viewpoints on race, gender, politics and the media,” Harvard Institute of Politics Acting Director Bill Delahunt said in a statement.

Manning, a transgender activist, and security expert, was released from prison in May 2017 after President Barack Obama commuted her 35-year sentence for released classified documents to WikiLeaks. Mr. Obama said Manning’s punishment was “disproportionate” for a government whistleblower. Manning currently writes op-ed columns for The Guardian and The New York Times.

Spicer, known for acerbic exchanges with reporters during his tenure at the White House, resigned as press secretary and acting communications director in July. Political analysts have been watching for where Spicer would end up next. He has since signed with a company that represents public speakers, and Politico reported the former press secretary is considering writing a book.

Other visiting fellows include Kansas City Mayor Sylvester James Jr. and Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign manager, as well as former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

It is definitely an eclectic group to say the least, although one can expect that Scarborough will no doubt berate President Trump in his remarks, which we’ll go on the record here as getting thunderous applause.

The decision to label Manning as a whistle blower is a bit of a stretch, however. Although the school is touting the visit by Manning as the first transgender fellow to speak at the university.

To read the entire article from The PBS News Hour, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia