On Tuesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that President Barack Obama had commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, a United States Army soldier who was convicted of violating the Espionage Act.
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“President Barack Obama commutes sentence of Chelsea Manning, who leaked Army documents and is serving 35 years,” the AP reported.
Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning had been held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth where she was in the midst of a 35-year prison sentence. In 2010, she leaked classified documents to Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks that revealed massive amounts of government overreach.
Last week, Wikileaks head Julian Assange said that he would agree to extradition to the United States if Manning was returned home.
According to the New York Times, Manning will still have to serve some time. She is due to be set free in five months.
“Now, under the terms of Mr. Obama’s commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed in five months, on May 17 of this year, rather than in 2045,” the New York Times reported.
“The commutation also relieved the Department of Defense of the difficult responsibility of her incarceration as she pushes for treatment for her gender dysphoria — including sex reassignment surgery — that the military has no experience providing.”
BREAKING: President Barack Obama commutes sentence of Chelsea Manning, who leaked Army documents and is serving 35 years.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2017