The attorney of Chelsea Manning says President Obama’s commutation of the former Army private’s sentence has “saved her life.”
Speaking to Greta Van Susteren on MSNBC, Chase Strangio said the controversial action by the outgoing president was necessary because, “if he didn’t act now, Chelsea’s life was very much in jeopardy.” Strangio also revealed that he had not received any explanation from the White House explaining their motivation for commuting the balance of Manning’s sentence for stealing and leaking thousands of classified documents.
Strangio also revealed that the “military facility” at which Manning is being held (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) “had not been informed” of the commutation and, therefore, he and Manning’s other attorneys had not been able to speak to their client about the news.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years and was set to be released in 2045. Manning will now walk free May 17, 2017.
