Paul Ryan Rips Chelsea Manning Decision as 'Outrageous'

House Speaker Paul Ryan ripped President Barack Obama's decision to commute the 35-year prison sentence of Chelsea Manning as "outrageous" and said that her leaking classified information to WikiLeaks "put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation's most sensitive secrets."

"This is just outrageous," the Wisconsin Republican said. "Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets.

"President Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes."

Obama's move will allow Manning, who leaked the documents as Bradley Manning in 2009, to leave prison in May.

Manning, an Army intelligence analyst, was convicted in military court in 2013 of six violations of the Espionage Act and 14 other offenses for leaking more than 700,000 documents and some battlefield video to WikiLeaks.

She was sentenced to 35 years in prison, serving more than six years.

In November, Manning asked Obama to commute her sentence to time served.

• Assange Will Approve His Extradition to US If Chelsea Manning Is Released
  
• Petition to Commute Chelsea Manning's Sentence Passes Threshold For White House Response