Ilhan Omar says Daniel Hale's case 'is exactly what the pardon power is for'
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Thursday called on the Biden administration to issue a pardon and end the prison sentence of Daniel Hale, a former military analyst who leaked government documents revealing the civilian toll of the US lethal drone programme.
"Daniel does not threaten anyone. He has taken responsibility for his actions, he did his country a service. And it is time we acknowledge that and repay him," Omar said during an online press conference on Thursday morning.
"Daniel's case is exactly what the pardon power is for," Omar said. "I take the prohibition of revealing classified information extremely seriously. But what Daniel did was courageous. What Daniel did was patriotic. What he did was public service."
The conference was hosted by the Daniel Hale Support Network, a coalition of organisations and friends of Hale working to advocate for his release.
Omar made a similar call in August 2021, sending a letter to the White House saying that Hale "has shone a vital light on the legal and moral problems of the drone program and informed the public debate on an issue that has for too many years remained in the shadows".
Last year, Hale was sentenced to 45 months in prison, after pleading guilty to one charge out of five related to the dissemination of the documents, which exposed secrets about US drone warfare, including how often civilians were killed during strikes in Yemen, Pakistan,...
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