In a massive slap in the face to both the defense and intelligence communities, outgoing President Barack Obama commuted the sentence for Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking military details to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Manning has served just seven years of his sentence; he is transgender and has changed his name to Chelsea Manning. Manning wasn’t Obama’s only controversial commutation: he also commuted the sentence of General James E. Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who lied to reporters about leaking information about the Stuxnet virus directed by Israel against the Iranian nuclear program; Obama commuted Oscar Lopez Rivera, an FALN terrorist who was convicted to a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy, forced robbery, and firearms charges.
So, what drove Obama to make these decisions? And what is their impact?
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