The former US military intelligence worker – who's six years into a 35-year jail term – could now be released in May.
It comes just days before Donald Trump is sworn in as President.
In one of his final acts as president, Barack Obama last evening announced he was commuting the sentences of 209 individuals and pardoning 64 others, including the commuting of a 35-year prison sentence for Chelsea Manning, the young US army private who leaked 700,000 classified diplomatic cables to wikileaks.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power used her final speech in office to deliver a hard-hitting verbal attack about the threat of Russian interference in western democracies. In it she accused Russia of attempting to tear down the new world order.
Police and security services are bracing themselves for hundreds of thousands of protesters and spectators to descend on Washington DC from today.
