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Army leaker Manning reportedly on Obama's commutation short list

An NBC News report suggests a reduced sentence could be in the works for Chelsea Manning, who's serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified info to WikiLeaks.

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Chelsea Manning could be looking at a shorter sentence as early as Wednesday.

A source at the US Justice Department has reportedly told NBC News that the former Army intelligence analyst, now serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, is on President Barack Obama's short list for commutation.

The report adds that an official announcement could come as soon as Wednesday.

Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, was first apprehended in 2010 after sending 700,000 military files and communications to WikiLeaks, a case that unfolded nearly in tandem with that of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Some members of Manning's family have suggested that she served as a scapegoat for Snowden and received an unusually harsh sentence as a result. Snowden himself tweeted support for clemency for Manning just this morning.

The US Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Editor's note: Edited at 5:15 p.m. ET to remove a mistaken reference to Manning's leaked files being included in a 2016 WikiLeaks release.