MANNING GIVES FIRST STATEMENT SINCE CLEMENCY

KANSAS CITY, MO. The soldier imprisoned for leaking classified military documents to WikiLeaks released her first statement since being granted clemency, saying she hopes to use lessons learned in prison to help others.

Chelsea Manning, to be released next week, thanked former president Barack Obama, who granted her clemency, Tuesday. She also said letters of support from fellow transgender individuals and veterans inspired her “to work toward making life better for others.”

A former intelligence analyst in Iraq, Manning was convicted in 2013 of leaking more than 700,000 military and State Department documents and battlefield video.