President Obama announced 209 commutations and 64 pardons on Tuesday, including one especially high-profile individual — Chelsea Elizabeth Manning.
Manning originally received 35 years in prison for a massive 2010 leak of American military and diplomatic secrets. Her commutation was announced in a fairly bloodless press release naming each of the people receiving a commutation or pardon in addition to some details about their conviction. Under the terms of Obama’s commutation order, her prison sentence will now expire on May 17.
Army agrees to give Chelsea Manning gender reassignment surgeryLess than a week after Chelsea Manning launched a hunger strike to protest abuse behind bars, the U.S. Army promised…thinkprogress.orgManning, who is transgender, is incarcerated at a prison facility for men in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. She twice attempted to commit suicide while incarcerated.
Last week, Wikileaks, which published emails stolen from Democratic operatives by Russian hackers, tweeted a promise to turn its founder Julian Assange over to American authorities if Manning is granted mercy by Obama.
If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case https://t.co/MZU30SlfGK
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 12, 2017
Assange faces sexual assault charges in Sweden and potential espionage charges in the United States.
It is, as yet, unclear whether Assange will follow through with this promise now that Obama has upheld his part of the bargain.