Manning will be released in May 2017 according to the White House. The move is part of a final push of pardons and commutations in the closing days of the administration, and Obama has now shortened the sentences of more federal inmates than any other president, bringing the total to 1,385 as of today.
Previously both Julian Assange and Edward Snowden who leaked his cache of documents detailing U.S. intelligence efforts around the same time as Manning’s crime, advocated for her clemency. "Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency as you exit the White House, please: free Chelsea Manning," Snowden tweeted. "You alone can save her life."
Manning was arrested in
2010 after leaking 700,000 military files and diplomatic cables to
Wikileaks, and her sentence exceeded that received by other individuals
recently convicted of releasing classified material. She has twice
attempted to commit suicide while incarcerated, and went on a hunger
strike in an effort to get the Army to allow her to undertake gender
reassignment surgery.
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