Last Updated Jan 17, 2017 5:48 PM EST
Manning’s attorneys released her commutation application in November , asking Mr. Obama to shorten her sentence to the time she’s already served.
The president granted commutation of sentence to 209 individuals and pardons to 64 individuals on Tuesday. Manning is expected to be freed in May 2017.
Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning poses for a picture wearing a wig and lipstick in this undated picture provided by the U. S. Army when she was known as Bradley.
NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden reacted to the news on Twitter.
“In five more months, you will be free. Thank you for what you did for everyone, Chelsea. Stay strong a while longer!” he wrote.
In five more months, you will be free. Thank you for what you did for everyone, Chelsea. Stay strong a while longer! https://t.co/PaLvJDvDbl
Manning, whose name was Bradley at the time of her arrest in 2010, worked as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. She was convicted in 2013 in military court of six violations of the Espionage Act and 14 other offenses for providing to WikiLeaks more than 700,000 secret military and State Department documents, as well as battlefield videos.
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning opens up about her prison sentence and her battle to transition to a woman in a new interview with Cosmopolitan.
When Manning was sentenced, she was also dishonorably discharged from the Army, and reduced to the grade of “private E-1,” the lowest rank possible for an enlisted member of the Army.
She admitted to leaking the documents, saying it was intended to raise awareness about the toll the war had taken on innocent civilians. As part of Manning’s application for commutation, retired Air Force Col. Morris D. Davis, who was chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay for two years, said much of the information Manning leaked had little value and could be found through open sources on the internet.
In September 2016, after a lengthy lawsuit, Manning became the first transgender military inmate to be granted a request for gender transition surgery.
Manning attempted suicide multiple times citing the treatment she’s received in prison.
House Speaker Paul Ryan was not pleased about the decision Tuesday, tweeting, “Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets.”
Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets.
My full statement ↓ pic.twitter.com/PcQrgK2SI3
