OBAMA HANDS DOWN HIGH-PROFILE CLEMENCIES, PARDONS

WASHINGTON— Embracing his clemency powers like never before, President Barack Obama is planning more commutations in his final days in office after a dramatic move to cut short convicted leaker Chelsea Manning’s sentence.

Obama became the president who has granted more commutations than any other when he announced on Tuesday that Manning would be freed in May, almost 30 years ahead of schedule.

Manning, the transgender Army intelligence officer who leaked more than 700,000 US documents, was one of 273 people receiving clemency on a single day.

Receiving pardons from the president were retired Gen. James Cartwright, who was charged with making false statements during another leak probe, and San Francisco Giants Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, who was sentenced in 1996 on tax evasion charges. Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera’s 55-year sentence was commuted.

But Obama is not finished. The White House said Obama would grant more commutations on Thursday—the day before his presidency ends—though officials said those would focus on drug offenders and would not likely include any other famous names.

Neil Eggleston, Obama’s White House counsel, said the individuals were learning “that our nation is a forgiving nation, where hard work and a commitment to rehabilitation can lead to a second chance, and where wrongs from the past will not deprive an individual of the opportunity to move forward.”

The actions are permanent, and cannot be undone by President-elect Donald Trump.