IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Manning seeks presidential pardon for leak conviction

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, before a sentencing hearing in his court martial.
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, before a sentencing hearing in his court martial.Patrick Semansky / AP file

Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning is seeking a presidential pardon for leaking reams of classified information that her lawyer says did not merit protection.

The Private Manning Support Network released documents Wednesday that defense attorney David Coombs filed a day earlier with the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of the Army.

Manning, previously known as Bradley Manning, has declared her desire to live as a woman while serving a 35-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Because of credit for time served and military parole rules, Manning could be out of prison in as little as seven years.

In her petition for pardon and commutation of sentence, Manning writes: "The decisions I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in."

The leaked material included video of a U.S. helicopter attack in Iraq that killed civilians.

Manning says she regrets if her actions caused harm.

An online petition to the White House to grant Manning clemency has drawn more than 22,000 signatures.

-- The Associated Press

Related: