Story highlights Obama announced his decision to commute Chelsea Manning's 35-year sentence"Thank you to everyone who campaigned for Chelsea Manning's clemency," WikiLeaks saidWashington (CNN) WikiLeaks celebrated Tuesday's news that President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, hailing it as a "VICTORY" on Twitter. Background: https://t.co/HndsbVbRer — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 17, 2017WikiLeaks followed up later with a short statement from Assange: "Thank you to everyone who campaigned for Chelsea Manning's clemency. Assange: "Thank you to everyone who campaigned for Chelsea Manning's clemency. — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 17, 2017The Justice Department has not charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with a crime, but US law enforcement officials have publicly acknowledged he is the subject of a criminal investigation. By Tuesday evening, WikiLeaks posited that the commutation was pacifying advocates and distracting from their other criticisms of the Obama administration.

Source: CNN January 18, 2017 00:04 UTC