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Our Opinion: In a word, wrong

Classified documents released by then-Army Pvt. Bradley Manning were found in Osama bin Laden’s hideout after a U.S. Navy SEAL team killed him.

That alone is evidence of how badly Manning’s betrayal hurt our country.

While working as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq during 2010, Manning leaked more than 700,000 military and diplomatic documents to the anti-U.S. WikiLeaks website. The information was posted online promptly for America’s enemies to use against us.

In July 2013, Manning was convicted of 20 charges, including violations of the Espionage Act. The traitor was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

But Manning demanded the Army provide hormone therapy while he was in prison, because of gender identity problems. The military provided it. Manning now is referred to not as Bradley but as Chelsea Manning. Most news outlets refer to her as a female.

This week, President Barack Obama, who has commuted the sentences of more criminals than any other chief executive, decided Manning deserved a break. Obama has ordered Manning be released from prison by May 17. It is unlikely the president’s order can be reversed.

Obama’s action was more than the “mistake” then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence called it on Wednesday. It was aiding and abetting our nation’s enemies.

No one knows how many people died because of Manning’s treasonable action. Almost beyond a shadow of doubt, many who had been helping U.S. officials in Afghanistan were discovered and killed by the Taliban, with Manning’s help.

What Obama did was, in a word, wrong.

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