UPDATE:

Harvard has withdrawn its visiting fellow offer to Chelsea Manning. In a statement released early AM on Friday, Kennedy School Dean Doug Elmendorf said “I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a Visiting Fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility."

Manning responded on Twitter by accusing the school of stifling "marginalized voices."

"This is what a military/police/intel state looks like...the @cia determines what is and is not taught at @harvard."

Original Post:

Harvard's Kennedy School of Government recently hired Chelsea Manning as a visiting fellow. Manning served seven years for leaking classified material to Wikileaks.

Harvard's hiring decision did not go unnoticed. Former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell immediately resigned from his position at the Kennedy School. Morell sent a resignation letter to the Kennedy School’s Dean, Douglas Elmendorf. He bluntly stated that Harvard's movie "honors a convicted felon and leaker of classified information."

Morell added that “Senior leaders in our military have stated publicly that the leaks by Ms. Manning put the lives of US soldiers at risk.”

Interestingly, Morell describes himself as “neither a registered Democrat nor a registered Republican,” in an August 2016 op-ed the New York Times. Morell has worked for both Democratic and Republican administrations. He endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. 

CIA Director Mike Pompeo, scheduled for an appearance at Harvard on Thursday, echoed Morell’s tone in his own letter to Harvard. Director Pompeo called his withdrawal from speaking a choice “he did not make lightly,” labeling Manning an “American traitor.”

"I believe it is shameful for Harvard to place its stamp of approval upon her treasonous actions."

Manning delivered the leaked data to Wikileaks in one of the largest classified information breaches in U.S. history. In his first speech to the Agency in April, Director Pompeo labeled Wikileaks a stateless, “hostile intelligence service,” aligned with America’s adversaries.